Operation Dark Angel

by Margaret Kay

  “Yes, I never would have guessed you were together,” Sienna said.

  Foxtrot

  The black SUV pulled up in front of the house in the cookie cutter community of Seven Swans in Fairfax. The three men from Shepherd Security got out of the vehicle. Danny ‘Mother’ Trio remained behind the wheel and left the engine running. His dark eyes watched the three other members of his team walk up to the front door. Then his eyes scanned the area. It was quiet, midafternoon on a lazy summer day.

  Landon ‘Lambchop’ Johnson, punched the code into the lock. All three men had their weapons drawn and ready. The beep indicated the lock was disarmed. He opened the door and went immediately to the security panel, prepared to enter the code there as well. He found the panel disarmed.

  “Whew,” Brian ‘The Birdman’ Sherman drawled. “Either our lady is a lousy housekeeper, or this place has been tossed.”

  Gary ‘The Undertaker’ Sloan crept towards the hallway that led into the kitchen. All the shades were drawn. The interior of the house was cast in shadows. “I’m sure they are long gone, but let’s clear this place by the numbers.” He nodded to the hallway and then disappeared into it.

  The Birdman ascended the stairs silently. Lambchop opened doors in the hallway, the coat closet, the powder room, both empty, but their contents disturbed, drawers emptied. He circled through the formal living room and dining room, both a mess of drawers dumped, furniture sliced open, pictures and their frames disassembled and strewn over the floor. Whatever they had been looking for was small or flat. He met up with the Undertaker in the kitchen which looked like a bomb had gone off in it. He took the stairs to the basement while the Undertaker cleared the laundry room and through to the garage.

  “This place has been completely trashed,” Lambchop reported through his comms. Both Mother and the Ops Center at home base were listening in. “Razor’s lady doesn’t need to come back and see this. Control, can you contract a cleanup crew in this area to try and right some of this?”

  “I’ll look into that, Lambchop,” Yvette ‘Control’ Donaldson replied. “Let’s get the intel you went in for first.”

  “After you have it, file a report with the local LEOs. I want the home invasion reported and documented,” Shepherd ordered. “Lambchop, you take the lead with the LEOs. I want NSA on point.” He listened in from his office.

  “Roger that, Big Bear,” Lambchop replied.

  Lambchop and the Undertaker met up with the Birdman in the upstairs hallway. The second floor looked as bad as the first and basement were. Whoever had searched the house had done a thorough job. They went into the spare bedroom that served as Greg Andrews’ office. The safe was there in the closet. It was the only thing in the whole house that was untouched.

  “Do you think they got in it and got what they wanted and then reclosed it? Or did they give up?” Sloan asked.

  Lambchop shook his head. “I’d imagine they had the house to themselves for an extended period of time. I don’t get why they didn’t break into the safe.”

  “They already knew that what they were looking for was not in it or they would have broken into it,” Shepherd interjected. “That’s all that makes sense.”

  “The question is, did they find what they were looking for in the house?” Lambchop asked.

  “If not, Sienna Andrews is the key. They wanted her. She either has what they are looking for or has information they want, maybe both. If she realizes it or not,” Shepherd said. “I think it’s time we bait a trap.”

  Later that afternoon, Cooper called the team plus Sienna into the galley for a meeting. Angel was not present. She was in Jackson’s quarters feeding Sammy. “I just got off a call with Shepherd. There’s been a development. Our searches into Dearborne Energy Solutions caught someone’s attention. Shepherd got confirmation from Deputy Director Mason that Greg Andrews was with the Agency.”

  “Fuck! It figures,” Garcia erupted.

  Sienna wasn’t familiar with the name Deputy Director Mason, nor did she grasp what being with the Agency meant. And she certainly didn’t know why Anthony reacted that way. “I don’t understand. What was Greg with?”

  “Your husband was a spook and Dearborne Energy Solutions is a CIA front,” Madison clarified.

  What? CIA? That couldn’t be. “Are you sure?” Sienna asked.

  “Yeah, one-hundred percent sure. Mason was not happy we were looking into Dearborne and your husband’s activities,” Cooper replied. “This changes everything.”

  “That explains your husband’s trips to Colombia and the other hotbeds,” Jackson said to Sienna, shaking his head.

  “Software engineer my ass!” Madison said.

  Garcia nodded. “What’s the plan, Coop?”

  “Sienna, we’re going to need to put you back in play to flush these bastards out,” Cooper said.

  “I don’t know what that means.”

  “We need Mrs. Sienna Andrews to step back into her life and see who comes after her,” Madison clarified.

  Sienna shook her head. “No, I won’t be your bait. They shot at me, were going to kill me!”

  “We’ll be right there with you, protecting you,” Cooper assured her. “Besides, if they really wanted to kill you, you’d be dead.”

  “You weren’t there.”

  “They’re professionals. Trust me. If they wanted you dead, you’d be dead.”

  “Even in that warehouse,” Jackson said. “If they’d wanted you and Garcia dead, you’d be dead. They wouldn’t have sent in a few armed men. They would have blown the whole fucking building up.”

  His words sent chills through Sienna.

  Cooper nodded. “I think they just wanted to scare the hell out of you.”

  “It worked,” Sienna admitted. She shot to her feet and stepped away from the table.

  “Madison and I will stay at your house posing as your in-laws.”

  Garcia’s eyes narrowed on Cooper. “I’m staying there too.” He too stood and stepped up to Sienna. “We’ll keep you safe,” he guaranteed her.

  Cooper’s smirk set on his face. Yes, he had figured that would be the case. He nodded. “Sienna, there’s one more thing. Our people went to your house to get the papers from the safe and your house had been tossed.”

  “What do you mean tossed?” In her eyes, everyone could see she understood exactly what he meant.

  “Trashed. Every drawer dumped, pictures taken off the walls, furniture slashed.”

  Sienna felt dizzy. She didn’t realize anything had happened, until her butt was sitting in a chair. She wasn’t sure how she got there.

  Doc knelt in front of her. “Breathe, honey,” he said softly.

  He waved a packet beneath her nose. It smelled horrible, ammonia. She sucked in a deep breath, her hand grabbed her own forehead. “What is that? It’s made me dizzy.”

  Doc chuckled. “Passing out is what made you dizzy.”

  “I passed out?” She repeated.

  “Went down like a drunk,” Doc said. “Good thing Garcia has such good reflexes. He’s the reason your head doesn’t hurt.”

  “Anthony,” she murmured. Where was he?

  “Right here, sweetheart,” he said from her left. She felt a hand grip her left shoulder and knew it was his.

  “You should take her back to your quarters to lie down for a while,” Doc said to Garcia. “And drink a lot of water the rest of the day.”

  “When will we go to my house?”

  “Not until tomorrow at the earliest,” Cooper replied. “Doc’s right, go get some rest.”

  Garcia got her settled back in bed and reclined beside her even though he wanted to continue his digital search into the records of New Mountain Enterprises’ finances. That was where he had left off. He knew it was always about the money. If where it came from and where it went could be traced, that usually led him to the players pulling the strings.

  This new information that Dearborne Energy Solutions was a CIA front company also shed new light
on things. The question was, what ties were there between Dearborne and New Mountain? And how did that tie in with his mission? There was no such thing as a coincidence.

  “I’m not sure I want to go home, especially with it a mess.”

  “The team that cleared your house contracted a local clean-up company to come in. It should be a bit more in order when we get there,” Anthony said. “They’ll put everything away, it just probably won’t be where you kept it, but at least it will be off the floor and the broken or destroyed things will be thrown away. They also asked the clean-up crew to box up your husband’s clothes, thought that would be easier on you.”

  He pressed a kiss to her forehead as she breathed out a heavy, shaky breath.

  “Thank you,” she said in barely a whisper. “None of this feels like it can even be real.”

  “Your trembling,” he noted. He embraced her more tightly,

  “I’m freezing.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” He got up and got two more blankets from his closet. He spread them over her and then slid into the bed beside her. Her body felt warm, but he understood why she felt cold. It was a common reaction.

  Golf

  Garcia embraced her and kissed her deeply. After he tore himself away, he took hold of his bags and the backpack they had given to Sienna to hold the clothes and other things Angel brought her, and then he opened the door. Across the hall, Cooper and Madison were just leaving their room as well. Cooper threw him a look he knew was asking if she had been told she’d also be sedated on the way out of the Silo. Garcia gave a faint head shake. No, he hadn’t broached the subject yet.

  They stepped near the elevator. Doc stood on the left, just past the private quarter’s hallway, with the stretcher. Garcia sat the bags on the foot of the stretcher and then pulled Sienna towards it. Her eyes glanced nervously at the stretcher. She knew.

  Just then Angel and Jackson burst into the hallway behind them, the baby fussing. “Son-of-a-bitch,” Jackson exclaimed, lifting the baby’s rear to his nose. “Why does he always have to do that? Just when we are ready to head out anywhere.”

  Angel laughed. “Welcome to my world. Freshie on and time to go bye-bye? Must be time to poop in his diaper. This one is yours, baby,” she said batting her eyes lovingly at her husband. “Good luck.”

  Jackson laughed sarcastically and returned to his room.

  Garcia laughed as well, realizing in that moment how much things had changed. His eyes followed his friend down the hallway, watching him until he disappeared back behind the door to his quarters. His best friend was a father now. Appropriately, that baby would always be his priority.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sienna was watching Jackson as well. He could see himself and Sienna with a baby of their own. He wanted that. And that thought surprised him. He wondered if Jackson had thought about having children with Angel when they had previously been here after they had rescued her.

  Angel glanced at the stretcher and at Sienna. “Yes, the old must be sedated. It is protocol, been there, done that.” She wrapped her arms around Sienna. “Just go with it. Anthony will take care of you while you’re out.” She said it like it was no big deal.

  Anthony watched Sienna process Angel’s words. She nodded and hopped up onto the stretcher unprompted. That was easy. Angel should be present more often in these types of situations. He gave Angel an appreciative grin and head nod and then he took Sienna’s hand. “I will, I promise. Just like before, I won’t leave your side while you’re out.”

  “I know,” she said. She laid down, with her feet propped casually on the bags. Then she took his proffered hand and held it close to her heart.

  Doc came in close and gave her a nod and a wink. “Thank you.” He had the vial in his hand.

  She downed it in one gulp and then laid back down. Seconds later and with no fight, she drifted off into the sedated slumber.

  Sienna came awake slowly. She was warm and she realized right away she was on an airplane. Her seat was comfortable. It was reclined. She sat beside the small window in the curved wall of the fuselage. Anthony sat beside her also reclined, eyes closed. He held her hand on the seat between them, the arm rest pushed up and out of the way.

  Doc came into her line of sight with a water bottle in his hand. “Here, you need to hydrate,” he said quietly. “We’ll be landing in just under a half-hour.”

  Beside the white noise of the aircraft, it was quiet. She raised her seat and looked around. It was a small jet. Across the way Jackson and Angel laid reclined in seats that faced them. They were awake, snuggling, the baby on their laps. He was asleep. Behind them, she saw a computerized control center. Cooper and Madison sat there. Madison gave her a grin and a head nod when their eyes met.

  Sienna took a big gulp of the water. When her eyes refocused on Anthony, his were open and he watched her closely.

  “How do you feel?” He asked

  “Fine. I guess I’m getting used to being drugged.” She gave a sarcastic chuckle.

  Doc handed another water bottle to Garcia, knowing that he too needed to hydrate. The tox panel he had run on Garcia at the Silo confirmed marijuana and cocaine. “Any nicotine or other cravings?” Doc asked.

  Garcia shrugged. “I can deal.” He knew six months sucking on cigarettes, plus the other substances he smoked, would take time to get out of his system and he was bound to have withdrawal symptoms. He didn’t like the idea of relying on a different drug to get over the drugs his body was craving. He could tough it out.

  Sienna stared intently at him but remained quiet.

  “I’m quitting cold turkey.”

  Her facial expression was disapproving. She knew it. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I don’t understand you doing what you did for a job, or what you did to keep your cover. You put yourself into dangerous situations.” She bit her lip as she shook her head.

  “It’s what we do, Sienna,” Garcia said. “It’s what your husband did. It’s the job.” His voice held conviction.

  Her eyes searched his. She saw what remained unsaid by him. “You gave up six months of your life for a job?” That wasn’t the question she was asking, and he knew it. She saw it in his eyes.

  “The job,” he corrected her. “Not just a job.” He leaned over so his lips were near her ear. “And yes, I slept with you as part of the job. That was part of the expected behavior in that role.”

  “You are the most despicable human being I have ever met, what you did to me, what you made me do!” She regretted her words as soon as they left her mouth. He hadn’t made her do anything. She had willingly slept with him each time.

  His lips quirked into that smirk. He leaned in close again, his cheek grazing hers. “You mean how I made you scream in ecstasy? How I made you come? Repeatedly?” He whispered, his hot breath blowing across her ear.

  Madison passed them coming from the bathroom at the rear of the craft. Her scowl was fixed on Garcia. Sienna flushed red, knowing Madison had heard him. Her eyes darted to Jackson and Angel. They too watched her and Garcia with interest. Even though they probably couldn’t have heard him, she was embarrassed. She unbuckled her seatbelt and shot up. She brushed past Madison, heading towards the bathroom.

  “Sienna,” Garcia called, unbuckling his belt as well.

  As he came to his feet, Madison stepped into him and shoved him back into his chair. “That was a total dick move,” she scolded. “That Razor’s an asshole. You’re not. Anthony Garcia is a good guy not an asshole.”

  Garcia moaned and scrubbed his hand over his face. Then he ran his hand through his long hair. “I know. I was getting up to go after her and apologize.”

  “You don’t just apologize for that,” Madison said as she took the seat beside him.

  Garcia met Jackson and Angel’s eyes. “You heard that too?”

  “No, but I can only imagine based on her reaction and Madison’s,” Jackson replied. “You need to decompress. You’re back and it seems you have a lady you
care a lot for.” He shrugged giving his words the proper emphasis.

  Garcia nodded. Jackson didn’t have to say anymore. Garcia knew Jackson thought he was being a dumb-shit. And he was.

  “You need to show her you care about her,” Madison added. “Just an I’m sorry isn’t going to do it after that.”

  “What do I need to do?”

  She laid her hand over his heart. “Whatever that was about, tell her how you really feel from here.”

  Garcia nodded.