by Kat Smith
“I heard a phone ring.” Christopher’s senses were on high alert. There had been a lot of activity throughout the day, and he knew something was happening.
“No babbling.” Teona glared at him, picked up a sock, and waved it in his direction.
He scowled and strained to hear what the soldier was saying in the other room. He’d devised an escape plan and knew from the flurry of activity his time was running out. He’d have to do it tonight, he thought, and lay back on his bed of blankets to run it through his head again.
Alex couldn’t sit still and stood to pace as the conversation continued. Mara took notes as Devan outlined her requests.
She glanced at Payton as she spoke. “I’m not sure I can make this happen, Captain, but I’ll do my best.”
Payton nodded to Mara and spoke for the first time. “Captain, we remotely accessed everything we need off the computer. You can leave it in place for her. The other items, the hard copies of the documents you transcribed and sent…I’ll need you to bring the originals with you and anything else you can find that will bulk up the evidence we already have.”
“Understood, Director.”
Mara glanced at the clock. “Captain, we only have about five minutes remaining until the blackout. “Keep that phone close. We’ll be in touch soon.”
“Colonel? Thank you and thank everyone who worked to make this happen.”
Mara motioned for Alex to come over. “Captain, there’s someone here that, I think, would like to talk to you.” She stood and waved Alex to sit in the chair.
“Yes, ma’am. I’d like that very much.”
They all heard the break in Devan’s voice as she’d answered. When Mara and Payton stood, she turned to wave the sergeant in the back of the room to leave. “I’ll turn you over to Alex now. Hold steady, Captain. I’ll see you in a few days.”
When Alex moved to the table and sat, Mara and Payton discreetly left the room and closed the door.
They observed Alex through the small square window in the door, and Payton nudged Mara with her shoulder. “You’re a softy at heart, Colonel.”
Mara swiped her nose. “After I refused to let her go on the operation, it’s the least I could do.”
Tears flowed freely when Alex spoke. “Hey.”
Devan swiped tears off her cheeks just as she knew Alex was doing halfway around the world. “It’s good to hear your voice.”
There was an urgency in Alex’s words. “Dev…you have to know… we didn’t abandon you…we had no idea…we all thought you were…”
Devan swallowed hard. “Baby, stop it. Don’t do that to yourself.” She cleared her throat. “It was protocol…the way it had to be…I know that. There’s no blame to lay on anyone, especially not you.”
“I know, but―”
“No, no buts.” Devan could barely form words, but she knew she had to get them out. Recent events had proven that she couldn’t take anything for granted. “I love you.” She’d said it a million times in her head since that fateful night, and it felt good to finally say it aloud. “I always have and always will.” She swiped her face. “And when I can finally say it to your face, I’ll show you just how much I mean it.”
Alex laughed. “I’ll hold you to that, Captain. I love you, too.”
They heard a beep on the line and knew that was a one-minute warning before the signal would be lost.
Alex rushed to finish. “Look, the colonel won’t allow me to join the op, but know I’ll be here watching everything, and I’ll be the first in line to welcome you home.”
Devan nodded into the phone. “The colonel made the right call, babe. I’ll be able to get through the next few days a lot easier if I don’t have to worry about you. Knowing you’re safe and will be there when I get home is all I need.”
Another beep warned them the signal loss was imminent.
Devan held the phone in a death grip, knew their connection was coming to a swift end. “Do you know I love you, Alex Elizabeth Maya Sheridan?”
“I do, and I love you, Devan Alicia Conner. Stay safe and come home to me.”
Devan stared at the phone when the line went dead. She allowed the tears to flow freely now and felt a gentle hug as Teona wrapped her arms around her from behind.
“You will go home soon.”
Devan nodded. She knew her joy was Teona’s sadness. “Yes, but we will stay in touch.”
Teona moved to sit across from Devan and spoke in a whisper. “He is forming something?”
Devan frowned and mulled over Teona’s words. “Oh, planning. He’s planning something.”
“Yes, that is what I say.”
“We’ll see about that.” Devan got up and peered around the corner into the sitting room. Christopher was stretched out on his blankets feigning sleep.
Chapter Fifteen
It was the middle of the night when Devan heard Christopher gagging in the next room. She tossed the covers back, got out of bed, and shook Teona awake.
Teona opened her eyes and looked sleepily up at Devan. “What is happened?”
Devan sat on the edge of the bed and kept her voice low. “I think he’s about to make his move.” She pulled the AK-12 rifle from the corner of the room and handed it to Teona. “I’m going to go check on him.”
Devan tucked her sidearm in the back of her pants and stepped into the sitting room. Christopher was sitting with his head in his hands, moaning.
“I’m sick.” He raised his head. “I need the loo.”
“Fine. Hold on a minute.” She stepped back into the bedroom and tugged on her boots. She wasn’t about to struggle with him or try to chase him with bare feet. She tipped her head toward the door when Teona questioned her. “He says he’s sick. Wants to go to the bathroom.”
Teona pulled herself out of the warm bed, slipped on her shoes, and picked up the rifle. She was becoming accustomed to toting the rifle around. Until Devan had literally dropped into her life, she’d never touched a gun. “Be careful.”
Together, they went into the sitting room. Devan didn’t have to instruct Teona. The woman stepped to one side and set up in a flanking formation. Devan silently commended Teona for all she’d learned in the last few weeks.
Devan looked down at Christopher. “What’s wrong with you?”
He shook his head and groaned. “Sick.”
She held the gun at her side and stepped back. “Get up.”
He crawled to his knees and pressed his shoulder to the wall as he heaved himself up.
She tipped her head to Teona and waited until she’d moved ahead into the kitchen. “Move it.” Devan followed but left enough distance to prevent being hit if he tried to swing the chains of the shackles her way.
When he entered the adjacent apartment, Teona was on the far side of the room and had the rifle aimed directly at him. “Why are you two wound up so tight?” As per their usual routine, he turned for Devan to remove the shackles on his hands.
“Not this time.” She pushed him into the bathroom and stood by the door. “You don’t need your hands to puke.”
“I don’t need to puke. I need to take a dump.” He held out his arms again.
“Take your dump, then I’ll let you free to clean up.” She knew he was planning something but couldn’t work it out.
He wrestled with his pants and managed to slide them down and sit on the toilet. “It’s going to get rough in here, can I have some privacy?”
“No.” Devan stood her ground. “Quit wasting time. You have five minutes, then you’re going back.”
She took one step out of the bathroom and closed the door halfway. She turned back to Teona. “If he tries anything…makes any sudden moves…shoot him.”
She watched him with her peripheral vision and saw his head snap up. They waited patiently for five minutes, and when nothing happened in the bathroom, Devan kicked the door open with her foot. “Pull ’em up, you’re done.”
“I told you I wasn’t feeling well.”
> “You have a choice, pull you pants up and go back to bed, or I’ll get the other chain and secure you to the toilet.” She grinned. “Doesn’t matter to me, we have our own bathroom.”
He growled and decided on his secondary plan. “Don’t get pissed if I puke all over your pretty blankets.”
It happened when they were moving through a cinch spot in the kitchen. Teona was walking backward keeping the rifle on Christopher. He turned left out of the adjacent apartment just as Teona misstepped and backed into the wall instead of the doorway into her apartment. He stepped long, then swung left as he raised his arms, sending the chains of his shackles hurling through the air. The hard steel clipped Devan under the chin and pitched her backward to the floor. He used that moment to charge forward. He barreled into Teona, pinned her against the wall, and thrust his fist up for an undercut to the chin, but he underestimated the dainty nurse’s abilities. The air burst from his lungs when Teona’s knee slammed into his groin. She followed with a blow to his face with the butt of the rifle.
She was standing with her foot planted on his chest and the barrel of the rifle pressed to his forehead when Devan stumbled into the room. She looked at Devan, to Christopher, then back to Devan. “Good, yes?”
Christopher moaned between curses. “I will skin you alive, bitch.”
Devan could only laugh and hold the gash under her chin when Teona looked down and snarled. “Stop babbling, asshole.” She supposed she might regret teaching her new friend her favorite descriptive words for people she disliked.
Mara sat in her office on a video chat with Sergeant Lena Taylor. “We’re finalizing the last details on this end, Sergeant. Barring any untoward delays, we’ll be ready to go tomorrow night.”
Lena snapped a nod into the camera. “We’ll be ready when you are. Colonel, thank you again for trusting me to lead this mission.”
Mara nodded. “She’s your captain, Sergeant, I can’t think of anyone more staunchly committed to getting her back home safely.” She looked at her schedule. “We’ll convene for a pre-mission update with the entire team at 2000 hours your time tomorrow. Get some rest, Sergeant. We have a lot riding on the success of this mission.” Mara punched a key on her computer, and the screen went blank.
There was nothing more she could do here today, so she grabbed her backpack and headed out the door. She gave Maggie a wave as she passed. “I’m taking the afternoon off. Ring my cell if you need to reach me.”
Payton walked through the kitchen door to the aroma of something delicious. She dropped her bag on the kitchen island, turned into the hallway leading to the foyer, and stopped when she saw Mara setting the table in the dining room. “Are we having guests for dinner?”
“Nope.” Mara smiled as she continued to carefully place the flatware next to their best china plates.
Payton stepped into the dining room, ran all the important dates through her mind. “Did I miss something?”
Mara approached Payton and wrapped her arms around her waist. “No, but you’re going to miss dining on your favorite meal if you don’t go upstairs and change.”
Payton leaned down and kissed Mara. “What’s the special occasion?”
“Nothing special.” She brushed a finger on the small dent in Payton’s chin. “I just wanted a nice romantic evening with you.”
Payton’s heart melted. “I can’t think of anything I’d like better.” She looked over Mara’s shoulder at the table. “You’ve pulled out the good china. Is formal attire required?”
Mara laughed. “Not a chance. In fact, I think you’d be overdressed in a T-shirt and track pants.”
Payton felt warm as her thoughts ran wild. “I can’t say we’ve ever had naked dining, at least not in the dining room, but I’m up for anything.”
Mara swatted Payton’s arm and turned toward the kitchen. “A T-shirt and track pants will be fine for dinner. We can talk about naked when it’s time for dessert.”
Payton moved toward the long winding staircase. “Yippee! Can’t wait. I’ll be right back.”
Devan was in Christopher’s apartment packing up the documents she would take with her. The satchel of Russian rubles sat beside the bed. She knew Teona would refuse any of what she called “filth money,” so she was tempted to remove a chunk, stash it away, then email Teona after she was safely back home to tell her where to find it.
She worried about her new friend and felt a tinge of guilt knowing she was leaving the woman behind to fend for herself. She owed Teona her life and was determined to find a way to make things better for her.
She took one of the bags to the kitchen and asked Teona to help her with the others. Devan didn’t want to risk Teona’s car being spotted on the way to the pickup zone, so she’d decided that they would take Christopher’s van that night. They were both quiet as they loaded the bags in the side and set up an area for Christopher in the back, far enough away so he couldn’t try anything during the trip.
She ran the steps through her head as she worked, analyzed every detail just like it was one of her many military missions. They had spent the previous night wiping down every inch of the van to remove any fingerprints they may have left when they’d rummaged through it. Teona had brought home a wad of latex exam gloves from work that they would wear on their final trip.
They would drop Teona’s car at the hospital on the way out of town that night and didn’t worry about anyone questioning it sitting there overnight as her schedule frequently changed. She’d given Teona detailed instructions to drive the van, with gloves on her hands, to the hospital the next night and leave it in the parking lot. The hospital security or the police would eventually notice it and treat it as just another abandoned vehicle.
They were now sitting at the table drinking a last cup of tea together.
“You are happy, but I will be sad when you go.” Teona smiled sadly at Devan. “It has been good with you here.”
Devan reached over the table and gripped Teona’s hand. “I will never be able to repay you for all you’ve done for me, but I promise we will stay in touch with each other.”
Teona picked up their cups and put them in the sink. “We go now before I cry.”
Devan stood and pulled Teona into a hug. “I will miss you very much, my friend.”
Devan’s team anxiously sat in the helo bay as they flew the night sky on the same route they had weeks before. They had made a vow to one another just before they climbed into the belly of the Black Hawk. They were all coming home that night or none of them would.
Peter tipped his head to the front of the helo and spoke into his mic. “I feel much better with our new pilot.”
“Roger that,” Lena replied.
Mara had made certain that Colonel Bowman had assigned his most experienced pilots for this mission. She’d even reviewed their service records herself.
The comms came alive with the pilot’s confident voice. “Two mikes out.”
Lena reminded them of their tasks. “Washington, you have the detainee, Ward and Johnson, you grab the gear, and Alligood and I have the captain.”
They all nodded and bumped fists when Washington replied, “Copy that.”
The pilot’s voice squawked through their headsets. “Thirty seconds.”
Lena heaved open the bay door as the helo dipped below the tree line. The field was twenty miles south of the town of Makhachkala. The closest resident was some five miles away, and even if someone saw or heard the helo approach, they would be in the air and far away before anyone could get close enough to be a threat.
They turned on their helmet cams and flipped the night vision goggles in front of their eyes and scanned the area as the helo set down in a flurry of flying dust.
The Reaper drone flew high above the target, relaying infrared images back to the Tactical Operations Center. When the monitors on the wall suddenly came to life, Mara, Payton, Alex, and Frank Gilbert stepped closer and watched as the mission went down half a world away.
Frank let out a grunt. “Guess we’ll see how well that new vest works in a storm of dirt.”
Mara didn’t bother to turn around and give him a look. “Quiet.”
The team jumped out of the helo, separated, and knelt in the freshly plowed field that smelled of rotten potatoes. They held their weapons ready, listening for the slightest sound.
Alligood whispered, “Maybe they aren’t here yet.”
Taylor scanned the field with the new scope. “There. Just inside that stand of trees.”
“You sure?”
“Yep, I see the vest.” She moved forward in a bent jog. “Move out.”
They moved silently across the field. When they were ten yards out, Johnson spotted Devan. The woman beside her held a rifle and was gripping the captain’s arm. He shouted into his mic, “Gun.” They all hit the ground and aimed.
When the laser lights flickered across Teona’s chest, Devan realized her mistake. She reached over and took the rifle from Teona and raised her hands in the air. “Jesus, stand down. She’s with me.”
“Cover me.” Lena jumped up and ran toward Devan while the rest of the team held their positions.
Devan pushed Teona behind her. She couldn’t believe they’d gotten this far only to get Teona shot by her own team. “Taylor, we’re good.”
Lena stopped and locked gazes with Devan. “How ya doing, Cappy?”
Devan gave her second in command a hard hug. “I’m better now.” She stepped aside and pulled Teona forward. “This is the brave woman that saved my life.”
Lena extended her hand. “Nice to see you again, ma’am.” She waved the others forward.
Devan handed the key to the shackles to Lena. “The detainee is in the van.”
Lena passed the key over to Washington. “Let’s move it.”
Alligood ran up and gave Devan one of his lopsided grins. “Howdy, Captain.”
Teona and Alligood helped Devan walk over the uneven terrain toward the waiting helo. It was slow and painful, but Devan didn’t care; each step brought her closer to home.
In the operations center, the main feed on the screen was Lena’s helmet cam. Everyone quietly gasped when Devan’s face filled the screen. She had lost a lot of weight, and Mara thought her eyes were flat and tired.