by Bianca D’Arc
It was a different vehicle today from the staid sedan he’d driven yesterday. This was a four-wheel-drive utility vehicle, similar to ones she’d driven in the Army. It was higher off the ground than a regular car, which made it a little easier to get her bad leg inside, though she needed a bit of help getting up high enough to get her butt on the seat. Carter was courteous, helping her into the vehicle and putting her crutches in the back. He also made sure she was buckled into her seatbelt before he started the car.
“Nice Jeep,” she said, meaning it. The dark green vehicle was a civilian model, but it wasn’t all that much different from the military version she had gotten used to overseas.
“Thanks,” Carter replied easily, pulling into traffic. “I thought it would be a little easier on your foot.” That was so thoughtful of him. She was really touched. “It also has some other great features, as you probably know. This one has a permit to drive on certain beaches.”
“It’s a dune buggy?” She knew some people got bigger tires and special permits to be able to off-road their vehicles on certain beaches where such activities were allowed. She’d just never seen one up close.
“Somewhat,” Carter admitted. “It’s got the larger all-terrain tires and some suspension modifications. It’s a lot of fun on the sand.”
“I’ll bet.” She had enjoyed driving the Army vehicles over rough terrain overseas. It was a powerful feeling to know you could drive over most things that would give a regular car pause. “I can hear the hum of the tires on the concrete,” she observed as they rolled down one of the North-South highways, heading toward the waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
“Yeah, they have big treads,” he told her conversationally. “The noise is a trade-off for the utility, but it’s not too bad, right?”
“No, not bad,” she agreed, though the faster he went, the louder it became inside the cab of the vehicle. She let the conversation die down as he concentrated on driving and that humming sound filled of the passenger cabin.
When he didn’t take any of the exits, but kept heading south, she started taking note of where they were. They were getting awfully close to the shore, and traffic on the highway was down to just two lanes.
“Where are we going?” She realized she should have asked that question before ever leaving her home, but it was too late now.
Panic wanted to rise, but she tamped it down. Panic wouldn’t help her in this situation. If Carter was intent on kidnapping her or accosting her in some way, she wasn’t really in a position to oppose him. He was too big and strong, with undoubtedly lethal skills. She might’ve at least fought back before her injury, but as things were, she didn’t really stand much of a chance against him.
Carter looked at her, his expression pained. “I really am taking you to see my friend, the doctor, but we’re going to have to do it a little…unconventionally.”
“Why?” she demanded. At least he wasn’t looking at her as if she was his next meal. That had to count for something, right?
“Because your house was bugged,” he said, flat out, sounding angry. As if he had a right to be upset about the fact that she had a security system in her home. “I was going to bring him to you, but not with cameras all over the place.”
“First of all…” She tried really hard to keep her calm and put her thoughts in order. “There are only three security cameras inside the house on my new system. I installed them myself. There’s one in the living room, pointed toward the front door. One by the back door, and one in the basement.” She ticked them off on her fingers. “Second, how the hell do you even know about them?” She glared at him. Better to be righteously angry than scared, she figured.
“I know because it’s my business to know these things and not bring my friends into danger,” he replied, as if that was any kind of real answer. She puffed out her breath and rolled her eyes at him. “And there are way more than three cameras inside your home. There are audio pickups, too.”
“I repeat: How the hell do you know that? And are you serious? I only put up the three measly cameras that came with the alarm system. There were no audio pickups. Nothing else besides the sensors for the doors and windows and a motion sensor I had Lulu put in the upstairs hall for me. She also put the camera in the basement, since I can’t really do stairs right now.”
He kept driving steadily, taking them all the way to the end of the highway and off onto side roads. He pulled into one of the many beach entrances—this one looking private, rather than public. He didn’t stop in the lot but went right onto the sand, shifting the vehicle easily into four-wheel drive.
Sand flew, and she reached for the handhold above her door while the vehicle rocked on its off-road suspension. She could see the water now, and he was heading straight for it. Was he going to stop? Or turn? Or something!
Then, she saw it.
“You’re kidding, right?” She blinked, but it was still there. Off to the right was a military landing craft, sitting, waiting, with its ramp down.
“Hold on.” He turned the vehicle and lined up with the ramp, taking it at a higher speed than she thought safe.
He bounced off the sand and onto the treads of the ramp, then onto the wide deck of the landing craft. Holy crap. She’d been abducted by the military. No way did civilians have these kinds of craft. This was a military op, and somehow, she was right in the middle of it. Again. Like she had been in the mall.
Or, perhaps, this was all because of the mall incident. Yeah, that made more sense. She’d seen through the men in civilian clothing for what they really were, and though she’d agreed not to say anything about them, somehow, she was still under surveillance by them. Much closer surveillance than she’d thought possible, considering they seemed to know the contents of her house. She didn’t see how they’d know about her cameras—and the alleged others—unless they’d had someone actually break into her home and take a look around.
Damn.
This was just getting too complicated for her. She was only a sergeant. A run-of-the-mill infantryman. She didn’t mix with Green Berets. She’d never, in her life, been on an assault craft like this one, but she recognized it, even as men appeared on deck and secured the ramp in its upright position. Someone in the wheelhouse got the thing moving, and before she knew it, they were underway, heading out into the Atlantic.
“Where are you taking me?” She turned an accusatory gaze on Carter. He didn’t like that look, but he supposed he deserved it.
“Just getting you away from any possible surveillance for a little chat.” Carter tried to sound nonchalant. Friendly, even.
“This is all because I recognized what you were at the mall?” she asked.
“That and the surveillance in your home. We need to nail down which side you’re on.”
“Which side I’m on?” Outrage filled her tone, and she looked ready to spit nails as she turned her head to stare out the window, silently fuming.
Carter found it almost amusing, though he would never let her know. The more he was around Hannah, the more he felt in his bones that she was on the right side of things. There was no way she was working with the enemy. No. Way.
He’d stake his life on it.
But… He wouldn’t risk Rick or any of the other guys on his own gut feelings. In order to get her the help she needed for her foot, she needed to prove herself trustworthy to the rest of the unit. Only then, would she be brought into the circle. There was really no other way to have Rick do his thing without bringing her into their confidence—at least a little.
Carter still wasn’t sure how they were going to pass off Rick’s abilities. They’d discussed strategy on that, but Rick wouldn’t know for certain how to proceed until he examined her in person. The current hope was that she could see him a few times over a period of weeks, and he could zap her with his healing vibes—or whatever it was—a little bit at a time, over a longer period, so the healing wouldn’t seem quite so miraculous. Rick had never really done that before, but he
thought it might be possible. Again, he’d made no promises until after he had a chance to examine Hannah’s foot in person.
“I am not a traitor,” Hannah said in a low, almost deadly voice.
Carter looked over to meet her gaze. Indignant fire burned in her eyes.
“I’m inclined to believe you,” he told her honestly. “But I hope you’ll understand that the other guys, who haven’t interacted with you, have their doubts. I can’t put any member of my unit at risk, even if I, personally, think you’re on the level.”
“Small comfort after you’ve already abducted me and are taking me God knows where.” She harrumphed and looked away again.
“We’re going to an island just off the coast of Long Island. Not too far away, actually. I can have you back home in time for dinner, if things work out,” he told her.
“If your friends decide I’m not working for the enemy, you mean.” Yeah, she was pissed. Her words were sharply cut off, as if with a knife.
“Yeah, that. And if Rick gives you the all clear on your foot.”
“Rick is the doctor you mentioned?” She seemed interested, despite her anger.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And he’s a member of your unit?” She scowled. “What can a Special Forces medic do for my foot that a specialist can’t?”
“Rick’s an M.D., not a medic, though he serves that purpose when we’re in the field,” Carter admitted.
“What kind of Special Forces unit has its own doctor?” She turned to look at him again, the anger in her expression tinged with curiosity.
“We’re a very specialized unit,” Carter replied, unable to hide his grin.
“A linguist, I sort of understand,” she told him. “But a doctor?” She shook her head. “I don’t really get that at all. Doctors aren’t special operators. They stay behind the lines, out of combat, if at all possible.”
“Not this one,” Carter said, cocking his head to the side. “Our unit is a bit different from most others. We’re all specialists of one kind or another. We were brought together because of our unique abilities, and they’ve only sharpened since the formation of our unit. We go in to both fight and investigate. To get to the bottom of what’s going on in a particular area, using all our skills.” He couldn’t say much more than that without saying too much, so he left it there.
The landing craft was well on its way to the island on which there was a highly classified military base. Bringing Hannah there was a concession. They needed to ask her questions, but none of his unit was really safe off-base at the moment. They were being hunted, and though it wasn’t ideal to bring more people to the secure facility, they’d made an exception for Hannah.
She’d already seen them in action once, though she hadn’t seen much, really. Just a bunch of big guys escorting a woman out of the mall under fire. They hadn’t showcased any of their unique abilities, but her military experience had led her to draw her own conclusions—correct conclusions—about what kind of unit they were. Though, there was no way for her to know exactly how special they were. Not yet. Probably, not ever.
Chapter Four
Hannah did her best not to freak out at the unexpected turn of events. Whatever she’d gotten herself into here, it had the stink of being something sanctioned by the government. No way were these guys so well equipped without government backing, nor could they operate with impunity on and around the island, as they had been doing, if some sort of officialdom didn’t know and approve of their existence and actions.
She’d been in the Army long enough to know that elite military units like this didn’t take a crap on U.S. soil without forms filled out in triplicate and commanding officers’ heads on the line. The military wasn’t sanctioned to operate on U.S. soil, except under very special circumstances. The fact that these guys were keeping such a low profile, yet operating heavy equipment and even participating in shoot-outs, was troubling. Though, she had to admit, the unit hadn’t fired a single shot during the mall escapade. They’d taken all the fire from the enemy without returning any.
It had been the local police first responders who had shot back and stopped the shooter in the mall, while the military guys had quietly and rapidly gotten the hell out of Dodge. With a civilian in tow. It had certainly looked to Hannah that the woman, who’d introduced herself as Rose when they were all hiding behind Lulu’s kiosk, had been the one the guys were protecting—and extracting from the danger zone.
For some reason, Hannah’s home security system—and whatever else they claimed was in her house—had set them off. Everything had been fine, and she’d really believed Carter was being honest with her about getting his friend to look at her leg…for whatever good that would do. But, now, they had basically abducted her, and she had a feeling she was in for a lot of tough questioning when they got where they were going.
Fine. They could ask her over and over, but the answers wouldn’t change. She was secure in her innocence of whatever they were thinking. She wasn’t the bad guy here. She would just wait it out until they got their heads out of their asses and figured that out.
The landing vehicle slowed as it approached a small island, and she took a deep breath. The ordeal—whatever it was going to be—was about to start. The landing craft lowered its massive ramp, and Carter started the Jeep and drove it off, onto the island, without a word. He drove off the beach and onto a paved road. She noted the official-looking buildings all over the place, as well as the men and women in uniform, who watched silently as the vehicle passed.
The uniforms were right. She was definitely on a military base of some sort, though she hadn’t realized there was one out this far. It was definitely isolated. A perfect place for top-secret goings on. Damn. Hannah was both relieved and concerned. Relieved because her Army record should mean something to these people, and concerned because they seemed to look at her as a potential enemy at the moment.
She was one of the good guys. She just had to convince these people of that.
They didn’t speak as Carter parked the vehicle just in front of a large building some distance from the beach. He pulled up close to the door, for which she was grateful. She was good on the crutches as long as the ground was level, but the great outdoors was a challenge if there was sand or gravel. There were both present in the small parking lot, as well as grass and dirt around the edges.
“This is our stop,” Carter said as he got out of the Jeep and came around to her side to help. He got her crutches out of the back and handed them to her without comment.
He was different now than he had been with her before. Did he really believe she could be working for the enemy…whoever that was? She wanted to shake her head and scoff at him, but she knew the situation was serious. Still, she was completely innocent, so truth was her ally. They’d see how wrong they were, and then, Carter would have to apologize. Whether or not she’d accept his apology remained to be seen.
“For what it’s worth…” Carter spoke quietly as they paused on the way to the building. “I believe you. I don’t really think you’re playing for the other side.” He gave her a soft smile that went a long way toward melting the ice that had formed around her heart. “The other guys just need to be sure. Humor them, and then, we can get on with this.”
“Simple as that?” She let some of the irony sound in her voice. “I’m not accustomed to being thought of as some kind of treacherous double agent.”
Carter shook his head. “No, ma’am. I imagine you aren’t.” He sobered a bit and met her gaze squarely. “But remember, I don’t think you’re one of the bad guys.”
“Well.” She began hobbling along on her crutches toward the door again. “That’s something, at least.”
She didn’t want him to know exactly how grateful she was to hear his vote of confidence. She was scared. Deep down, she was afraid of everything that had happened in such a short time. First, the gunfight in the mall—a place she had always thought safe. That had shaken her, and she’d had nig
htmares for the next few nights. Nightmares she hadn’t had since she’d come back from overseas. The sound of gunfire had brought it all back, and suddenly, she was in the desert again, danger all around.
Then, just as she’d come to terms with all that again, Carter shows up and abducts her. She’d gone from mild hope for a new doctor’s opinion on her foot to being swept up under suspicion of being an enemy and transported to some secret military base for questioning. She was thrown off balance by the events of the day, to be sure. But that’s probably what they wanted. She knew the techniques, though she’d never had to use them. Get an enemy prisoner—keep them off balance for questioning. She hated to think that the rest of Carter’s friends might think of her as the enemy.
They were met at the door by a man she’d seen only in passing in the mall. She’d pegged him, at the time, as the unit commander, and she was somewhat pleased to have her suspicions confirmed.
“Sergeant Sullivan,” he said, his voice neither friendly nor threatening. “I’m Captain Haliwell. If you’ll come this way.”
This way led to a room just off the main hallway that looked like some sort of living room or rec room area. There was a ping pong table set up in one corner, as well as a couple of lumpy-looking couches set around a large screen. Low tables were clear of clutter, but she could easily see them holding pizza or beer or whatever snacks the occasion required when the unit was off duty.
She supposed she should be grateful to have been led to a rec room rather than a holding cell or interrogation room. She sat at the small table to one side of the door, where the captain indicated. He wasn’t in uniform, and neither was she, so this wasn’t official, in that sense, but she knew they were all very aware of the fact that she was under some sort of suspicion. She didn’t like that. Not one bit.
“Thank you for coming here today, and I’m sorry it had to be such an unusual trip. We hadn’t planned on it, but when our men discovered transmitters in your house this morning, Plan A went out the window, and we had to improvise.”