Witness Protection: Moving Target

by Jet MacLeod

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing’s wrong.”

  “Then why do you have that face?” Angie asked her.

  “I spoke with Gregor.”

  “And?” Angie questioned hoping she would just tell her.

  “They’ve set a court date.”

  “That’s good right?”

  “Yeah, it is.”

  “It’s close isn’t it?” Angie inquired.

  “It’s close, but not that close.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It is about six months out. The defense is still trying to stall, but the judge keeps throwing out all their motions. They are running out of options to try. Plus, they are trying to keep the Russian Ukrainian angle out of the mix. They want to make sure that the defense doesn’t get ahold of that. They are afraid if they do, they might try it for a defense,” Del told her.

  “A defense? The cartels weren’t really the ones that were after me but the Russians were? No jury in their right mind would believe that. There is too much evidence. I made sure of that before I even decided to take the case. The fact that there are recordings of death threats isn’t enough. The fact that I pushed the case when others hadn’t and suddenly I’m whisked away into Witness Protection isn’t enough. What do they think that the defense has?”

  “I don’t know. That isn’t my realm, Princess, but yours. What could they possibly have?”

  “Nothing. It was an open and shut case. We have witnesses, evidence, forensics, and recordings. There should be no way that they can get off unless they buy the jury.”

  “Then we have nothing to worry about,” Del stated.

  “Just my life,” Angie replied with a sobering clarity.

  “That is my problem.”

  Angie looked at her. She really looked at her and she could see the tensing in her shoulders. Del wasn’t worried about the case. She never was. She was worried about Angie. She had always been worried about Angie. She knew that it Del’s job to keep her alive. She didn’t understand what that mean until Rudakov and now, when she looked into her eyes there was something different. The worry had changed. There was something more behind it.

  “I’m not scared.”

  “You shouldn’t be.”

  “I love you, Delia.”

  “I love you, too, Princess,” Del replied.

  “What is it, Del?”

  “We should go to Seattle soon,” she said, getting up from the bed.

  “Why the rush?”

  “There is no rush.”

  There was, but Angie didn’t understand why. They had a timeline until she was going back to New York. She knew that Del didn’t like the City, but why would she rush leaving Napa? What else had Gregor said to her? Angie watched her.

  She could see the muscles underneath her shirt ripple and strain with stress. Her back was taught as a bow string and Angie worried if she pushed her too hard that she would snap. There was more to the story than Del was willing to admit and she needed to know what it was. They promised to not lie to each other, but why was Del not telling her everything?

  “Del?”

  “Yes, Princess?”

  “What else did Gregor tell you?”

  “Nothing much,” Del answered.

  “Nothing much what?”

  “Just that things were progressing normally now. They have already found the other links tied to Rudakov and Ivan. The mess has been contained and cleaned. I didn’t ask how and by whom. It is better that I don’t know. I am just happy that it is over. I don’t want to think about someone else coming after you to get to me. I wouldn’t be responsible for what I did to whoever did.”

  “We don’t need to worry about that, Del. It is over. Gregor, Cole and Sanchez dealt with the sanitation. There is no need to worry. We are safe. Cole and Sanchez have made sure of that. You know that. What is it that is bothering you so much?”

  Del looked up at her. She knew that she was pulling away. Angie’s eyes made her want to surrender to the feelings inside her, but yet she was still scared and scarred. She couldn’t see beyond the mission. It didn’t matter how much she wanted to make a life with Angie, she would find a way to destroy it. She destroyed everything she touched. She’d almost lost Angie with Rudakov and the next time it would be to the courts.

  Once the case was over, Angie wouldn’t really have any reason to be with her. She knew this, but she now had a date to coincide with her eminent destruction. She knew that she agreed to take it one step at a time with her. She had to give Angie the time. She would. She loved her enough to try, but she wondered if it would be enough in the end.

  Chapter 47

  They had left Napa earlier that morning. Del didn’t know how she got Angie to agree to go camping again; especially since what happened the last time they went camping. Del shook the thoughts from her head. There was no way that Ivan or Rudakov could hurt them now. She’d made sure of that in Salt Lake.

  They were nearing Six Rivers National Forest. It had been over five hours and Del thought they should take a break. It would be a nice place to camp. She just didn’t know where and how she wanted to camp this time. They had everything they need to survive in the wilderness, but Del didn’t know how much “roughing” it Angie could handle.

  “What?” Angie asked, eyes closed and reclining in the passenger seat.

  “What what?”

  “You’re thinking too hard. I can hear your brain in overdrive. So, what is it?”

  “I want to take you camping,” Del answered.

  “Yeah, cause that didn’t really work out the way you wanted last time, did it?” Angie asked.

  “No, not at all.”

  “So, what did you have in mind this time?” Angie asked.

  “You want to go camping?”

  “I told you before that I don’t mind it. What I minded was being interrupted and kidnapped last time. So as long as that doesn’t happen, we’ll be good,” Angie replied before she asked. “So, cabin in the woods? A tent and sleeping on the ground? What are you thinking?”

  “Horse trails and a tent?” Del stated more like a question.

  “Okay.”

  Del just stared at her for a minute. She turned back to the road still not believing that Angie was agreeing to this so easily. She thought that she was asleep at the wheel. She pinched herself to make sure. When she felt the pain of the pinch, she realized that Angie was real and she was awake. She smiled.

  “I’ll need to stop soon to see what I can find.”

  “Sounds good, my butt is asleep,” Angie replied.

  Del giggled. It was a new sound for Angie to hear, but it was a sound that she would enjoy making Del make again and again. She looked at her, again and she could see the mirth on her face. Angie was starting to believe that Del was finding the human element to life. It was amazing to see her open up herself like this, even though they were just in the confines of the car. Del was learning to be social. Angie smiled. There was hope that she could save this relationship before Del tried to derail it and it was in Del’s smile.

  “What?” Del asked as she pulled off the highway and into a small town McDonald’s.

  “Nothing,” Angie stated, getting out of the car as soon as Del parked it.

  Del was left in the Suburban staring after her as she went inside to pee. She could tell by the first few steps that Angie was stiff from sitting too long. She wondered if camping was really a good idea. She wasn’t sure that Angie’s body would be able to take it so soon. Yeah, they had been comfortable in Napa, but sleeping on the side of a mountain and caring for a horse wasn’t the same as laying on the ground in Lyman. This was going to be a rugged outing.

  Angie got back into the SUV without much fanfare. She handed Del a drink and set another in the cup holder. She buckled her seatbelt and leaned back in the seat waiting for Del to pull out of the parking lot. When Del didn’t start the car, Angie turned to face her.

  “What is it?”

 
; “What is what?”

  “What’s bothering you?”

  “I don’t think we should go camping,” Del finally stated.

  Angie picked up her cup and took a sip. She regarded the haunted look in Del’s eyes and knew that she was afraid that someone else would spoil their fun in the middle of nowhere in the wilderness. She knew that Del needed to go camping as much as she wanted to go so that she would get over what happened to them both in Lyman and Tahoe. It was a step towards healing.

  “Del…”

  “No, Angie, don’t try to analyze it. We don’t need to go. I’ll find up some hotel or something to stay in. This isn’t like Lyman. This isn’t going to be flat lands with mountains in the background. This would be us riding horses over rugged terrain and camping. It isn’t the same. Don’t tell me that it would be,” Del demanded.

  “Del, if you don’t want to go, we don’t have to. But, I know that you like camping. It has been a way for you to escape and it is something that you are good at because of all your training. I’ve told you before that I don’t mind rugged. So stop treating me a like a princess, because I am not one. I like to relax like everyone else. Yes, I might do it a little differently, but I still do it.”

  Del stared at the pale brick of the building. She didn’t dare turn her head to look at Angie. She didn’t because she knew that she would see the fire in Angie’s eyes. She would see the passion that Angie possessed and she would want her. She would want her completely and forever. Del was trying to steel herself against the feelings that had been growing. She knew that she was falling for Angie and it was only a matter of time before she would be past her point of no return.

  “We’ll wait,” Del replied with a finality.

  “Why?”

  “Because we need to get to Seattle. We need to get settled. You need some normal in your life.”

  “I think I have never had normal, Del. What’s really going on? Why all of the sudden do you not want to go camping? Do you think that I don’t know my way around a horse? Is that it? Do you think that I wouldn’t be able to handle myself up there on a mountain?” Angie questioned.

  Del didn’t turn her head. She didn’t even move. Angie just sat there and stared at her in anger.

  She deserved Angie’s anger and she knew it. She wasn’t going to fight her on this. Angie promised to follow her directions and she knew that Angie would. But, she also knew that Angie would question her and her motives. Hell, she was beginning to question if she could still do this job. She didn’t know if she could separate her feelings from the objective. She knew that she had to keep Angie safe and alive. Falling in love with her was just an added bonus for the moment, but she was still scared about what would happen when they returned to New York.

  “Delia, talk to me. Tell me why you are so determined to undermine yourself. What is really bothering you?” Angie asked her.

  Del didn’t answer. She didn’t know what to say that she hadn’t already. This was not the easy assignment that Gregor said it was going to be. This was harder than dealing with Yulia. But, they were both going to have the same basic outcome. Del was going to leave in the end and they were both going to get hurt. It sucked. She didn’t like it. And, she was trying her damnedest to fight the fantasies of a life with Angie after this was all over in her head. She was failing and she knew that Angie knew it, too.

  “Del?”

  “We need to go,” she replied as she started the Suburban.

  She pulled out of the McDonald’s parking lot and headed back for the highway. It would be a long drive to Seattle and she knew that they would have to stop, but it would be on the road. They wouldn’t go camping. It was far too dangerous.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Seattle,” Del answered quickly.

  “Isn’t that going to take a while? I mean, I am no expert in distances, but that isn’t going to be a quick drive up the highway. I can only guess as to what direction a good place to go camping is, and I am sure that it isn’t straight up the Interstate. Look, I know that we just left Cottonwood. If we turn in Redding, we can go to Six Rivers. I know that you want to go there. Let’s go.”

  “I don’t want to go anymore. We’ll drive by Mount Shasta. We’ll look at the snow cap mountain and then continue north towards Seattle. It is about another eight hours or so until we get there depending on traffic. We’ll be fine. We’ll go to Seattle,” Del replied.

  “I don’t want to go to Seattle.”

  Del wanted to stop right there. She wanted to scream. She knew that Angie was about to throw a tantrum to prove a point and eventually Del would let her win. Angie knew it. Del knew it, but she didn’t stop driving. She kept the Suburban pointed north on I-5.

  “Delia, I mean it. I don’t want to go to Seattle now. We need to pull over somewhere and talk about this. We need to look at a map. You just barreling down the interstate isn’t going to prove anything. We need to stop. We need to talk. And, you know it,” Angie told her.

  Del just nodded. She didn’t trust her voice at the moment. She knew that she might give in to what Angie wanted. It wouldn’t be hard. It would be easy. But, she still wasn’t sure about camping. Yeah, Angie had told her that it would be okay. She even agreed to the craziness of horseback camping, just the two of them, on the side of a mountain, alone, with no guide. Angie didn’t even flinch at the idea and now, when she started trying to rationalize why they couldn’t go camping, Del was failing and failing miserably. Del knew that Angie wasn’t going to let this go without a fight. She also knew that in the end, Angie would probably win. They would end up going camping and Del would be armed to teeth this time. She wouldn’t take anything to chance.

  She started looking for somewhere to pull off the highway again. They were coming up on Redding. She would stop there. They would go get something to eat in some crowded restaurant. They would plan out their trip. She would use the crowd to her benefit. She knew that it would keep Angie from throwing a tee-total fit of a tantrum. And, Angie knew it, too.

  It had only been twenty minutes or so from Cottonwood when they pulled off the interstate and headed into Redding. Maybe she would be able to convince Angie to stay there for the night. Then they could really talk. She didn’t want to continue on the trip until they had a true destination. It wouldn’t do them any good.

  She knew that Angie was upset with her. She knew that if they didn’t talk about it that Angie would stay mad at her and might actually act out like she had with the other agents that had been guarding her. Del knew that they didn’t, well she didn’t, need that kind of complication. If Angie was already threatening to not go to Seattle, bad things would happen if they didn’t get it straightened out now. She knew that Angie would do something and she knew that she wouldn’t like it. No, they had to talk and they had to talk now.

  “Delia, what are you doing?”

  “We are going to talk,” Del stated.

  “We’re going to talk?”

  “Yes, I think that we need to plan a little better.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you don’t want to go Seattle and I’ve realized that we left Napa without a true plan. That part is my fault. I will not make that mistake again,” Del said as she studied the road in front of her.

  Chapter 48

  They sat in the restaurant staring at each other. They hadn’t said a word since they sat down. The small atlas sat between them, unopened. Fire was burning in Angie’s sapphire eyes. Del’s looked hollow and dead. She was retreating into herself, preparing herself for Angie’s tantrum, and trying to make herself not fall further in love with the blond beauty.

  “Delia?” Angie asked breaking their silence.

  “Yes?”

  “What are we going to do?”

  “I don’t know. All I know is that I have a house that has been cleared and prepared for you to live there, to have a life there until we have to go back, but now, you don’t want it. I don’t know what we are going to do. I am lost
here, Angie. I don’t like it. I don’t like not knowing what I am doing or where I am going. We don’t have a plan. We need a plan,” Del told her.

  “Then, let’s make a plan.”

  “It isn’t that easy.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because it isn’t,” Del said a little more harshly than she meant to.

  Angie could see the tension in her shoulders. Del was upset. Angie knew that it was bad enough that Del admitted that she was lost. She knew that she shouldn’t keep pushing, but she knew that she needed to do it. She needed to make Del realize that hiding her away wasn’t going to solve their problems or the issues that would arise from them having a relationship.

  “Del, we need to figure out what we are going to do. Driving down the highway aimlessly isn’t helping anyone but the gas stations. What about Cole and Sanchez? What are you going to tell them?” Angie asked her.

  Del stared up at her. She didn’t know what to say. She knew that Angie was right, but she didn’t care in that moment. Her emotions were getting the better of her and she knew it. It was the reason that she forgot how to feel while she was on a mission. She couldn’t think correctly when her emotions were ruling her head. It made for dangerous actions.

  “I need to think,” Del told her.

  “Then, do you want to get a hotel here?”

  “No, we need to keep moving,” Del replied.

  “We need a plan, Del. You know this. We can’t just drive until you get tired.”

  “I wasn’t planning on doing that. I was planning on picking a spot on the map and heading towards it. Like I have been doing the whole way here, it seems to work fine.”

  Angie just stared at her, unbelieving at what she was hearing. She shoved the atlas across the table at her and waited. She watched as Del slowly opened in and turned to the corresponding pages for Northern California.

  Del just stared at the map. She wasn’t sure what to do. Part of her wanted to go camping, but the other part of her wanted to get Angie to Seattle and to the safety of the house that Sanchez had arranged for them. She absentmindedly traced her fingers along the interstate and other highways and followed them into Oregon. She wasn’t really paying attention to the routes that she was making. She was looking for town names and their relative sizes. She wanted something small but not too small. It needed to be just big enough to hide in without too much questioning for a few days.