Charlotte held the weapon out to Jake long enough for him to see their dilemma, holding up a finger to keep him from speaking. He nodded his understanding and motioned toward the aisle across from them.
Footsteps sounded nearby, and Charlotte and Jake hurried to the next aisle. Charlotte looked behind her just in time to see Owen make the turn toward them.
“Over here!” he shouted, lifting his gun to fire.
Charlotte barely had time to register that he must have been carrying a spare weapon before Jake scooped something off the shelf beside him.
Anticipating a shot, Charlotte put her hand on Jake’s back and pushed him to the ground as they reached the edge of the aisle. A bullet whizzed over their heads, and they both scampered around the endcap, staying low to the ground.
Footsteps pounded toward them, and Charlotte looked around desperately for somewhere to hide. A huge display of stuffed animals became her next destination.
“Over there,” she whispered, scrambling to her feet and racing toward a stuffed giraffe that was as tall as she was. The giraffe stood between a fat hippo and the king of the jungle.
Charlotte ducked behind the lion, and Jake dropped down beside her. She looked over to see him use his pocket knife to cut through the packaging on the toy he’d grabbed off the shelf.
“Here,” Jake whispered. She looked down at the ammunition for an airsoft gun. In his hand, he held two of the toy weapons.
She ripped open the package, quickly helping him load them. “This isn’t going to do much against real guns.”
“No, but it might distract them enough for us to get to the door.”
Multiple sets of footsteps grew louder. Charlotte could feel Jake’s heart pounding as rapidly as hers. In whispers, they planned their next destination, a cluster of baby furniture that was much more solid than their current cover.
“You go first,” Jake insisted. He didn’t wait for her reply before he swung his airsoft gun toward the approaching men, popping his head above the lion long enough to sight them and fire off several shots.
A cry of alarm and another of pain rang out.
Charlotte sprinted toward the furniture, diving behind a dresser a second before a bullet splintered into it. She sensed the men’s attention shift from her to Jake. Clamping down on her terror, she mimicked Jake’s earlier action, edging out from behind the dresser, sighting, and firing at Owen and Phil.
Both men retreated into the aisles they were near before her shots could connect. She fired again to keep the path clear for Jake. He closed the distance between them, firing off a shot in Phil’s direction as he ran toward her.
Jake crouched behind the changing table beside her.
“Try to work your way over there,” Charlotte lifted her chin in the direction of the front of the store. She fired off two more shots and took her own advice as she did so. They both took cover when they saw Owen’s arm emerge from his hiding place, his gun in hand.
A quick succession of shots punctuated the air. Charlotte heard the click of a clip released from the gun chamber. Acting on instinct, she peeked around the crib she was now behind. Owen’s gun hand was barely visible from where he had taken cover. She took aim and fired several shots of her own. Another cry of pain rang out when one of the pellets connected with his wrist.
She sent another spray of shots toward Phil’s hiding place for good measure before she and Jake scrambled again, this time making it all the way to the sporting goods aisle.
Hearts racing and their breath coming rapidly, they turned the corner toward the door. Cheng was standing a few yards away.
In an instant, he raised his gun and fired. Pain seared through Charlotte’s left arm as she and Jake both dove onto the floor, taking cover between the baseball mitts and soccer balls.
Chapter 48
This wasn’t happening. A jolt of pain shot through Jake’s shoulder as it connected with the linoleum floor, the toy gun bouncing beside him as it came free of his grip. His own groan merged with a cry of pain from Hannah.
The next few seconds passed in a blur. Blood, bright and red, smeared on the floor beside him. Shouts from the men chasing them. Footsteps pounding a few yards away.
His mind was barely beginning to process the reality that Hannah was wounded when Cheng appeared at the end of the aisle, his gun now aimed at Jake.
Hannah rolled over on her back, her airsoft gun still gripped in her right hand, and shot.
The pellet hit Cheng square in the left eye, resulting in an immediate cry of agony. His left hand lifted to protect the wound, and his gun hand dropped to his side.
Jake and Hannah clambered to their feet, and Jake was surprised to see that Hannah was keeping pace with him despite the bloodstain seeping through the sleeve of her shirt. “You okay?”
She winced but said, “Yeah.”
They retreated to the center section of the store, and Jake saw Owen along the back wall, his line of fire impeded only by the stuffed animals they had hidden behind earlier.
They were trapped.
Hannah’s airsoft gun wouldn’t do her any good because her line of fire was blocked as well, but they had to get clear of Cheng without running into even more danger than they were currently in.
He reached into a wire bin filled with baseballs and hurled one at the Lego sculpture to Owen’s left. The spaceship exploded into thousands of pieces, and Owen caved to his protective instincts, pulling his arms up to protect his head.
“This way!” Hannah whispered, rushing toward a part of the store they had not yet passed through.
Jake saw Owen straighten and lift his gun once more. Afraid he now had a clear shot at Hannah, Jake sent another baseball flying in his direction and then a third.
The moment Owen ducked to take cover, Jake started after Hannah.
She was five yards away when Phil popped out of the aisle she was approaching.
Hannah came skidding to a stop, lost her footing, and fell to the ground, her own impromptu weapon falling beside her.
Now standing over Hannah, Phil swung his gun toward Jake. Jake darted behind a wire bin filled with oversized rubber balls. A gunshot blew through three of them, amplifying the sound.
Ducking behind the nearest shelves, Jake peeked out long enough to see Phil grip Hannah by the hair and haul her up until she was forced to stand in front of him.
What Jake wouldn’t give right now for one of his father’s hunting rifles.
“Come out of there, or I swear I’ll kill her,” Phil said.
“Don’t do it!” Hannah cried out. “He’ll kill you.”
Jake wavered. Could he trust these men to spare Hannah’s life if he gave himself up? Was he willing to trade his life for hers? The second question startled him when the answer came almost instantly: yes, he would sacrifice himself for her. Yet everything in him and every instinct he had seen Hannah exhibit told him these men would kill them both. His best bet to save Hannah was to save himself first.
* * *
Charlotte could sense Jake’s indecision. “I’ll unlock guardian. I swear. Just let him go.”
“We’ll see if you’re more cooperative this time.” Phil kept his gun trained in Jake’s direction, his other hand still gripping her hair.
Charlotte prayed Jake would stay where he was, that somehow he could continue to avoid Owen and Cheng.
She yelped in pain when Phil tugged on her hair so she had no choice but to go with him. Keeping her in front of him as though she was a shield, he walked backward, constantly ready to shoot if Jake dared peek out of his hiding place.
They were nearly to the storage room when she saw Owen once more heading toward Jake.
As much as she wanted to believe Jake could find his way free, she had to face the facts. They were outnumbered, and it was only a matter of time before Jake was cornered once and for all. Now it was up to her to decide if she could sacrifice Jake for the men and women working in the field to protect her country or if she would give t
hese men everything on the off chance they would spare their lives.
* * *
Jake watched helplessly as Hannah and Phil disappeared from sight. He heard a shoe squeak nearby and realized Hannah wasn’t the only one in danger.
He reached onto the nearest shelf, his fingers gripping a hard plastic phone intended for toddlers. The moment he saw movement at the end of the aisle, he sent it hurling. In quick succession, he sent three more phones flying.
Worried he would get trapped between Owen and Cheng, he hurried back into the main aisle and started toward the front door. If he couldn’t get to Hannah, maybe he could get to the door, or at least to a working phone. There had to be one at the customer service desk.
Cheng appeared in his path, and once again Jake used toys as projectiles. This time he threw Barbie dolls, still in their pink packages, through the air.
Cheng kept one hand up to protect his face from getting hit and lifted his gun with the other. The fury on his face was unmistakable, and Jake didn’t waste time taking cover.
The sound of the gunshot was expected, but he heard something else that put his already rapid heartbeat into overdrive: a door opening.
His sense of urgency spiked. Eluding two men to get to help had already proven more of a challenge than he’d hoped. If they had help arriving, he didn’t know how he could get out of here, much less help Hannah. His stubborn streak and sense of self-preservation took over, and Jake grabbed another toy. Whether he was up against two men or twenty, he had to try.
* * *
Phil shoved Charlotte into the chair by the computer. “It’s now or never. You help me—you and your boyfriend live. You don’t—I’ll kill you now, and I’ll make sure you aren’t the only body that’s found tomorrow morning.”
Charlotte sucked in a breath, feeling like the air was too thick to pull into her lungs. The cold metal of the gun barrel pressed against the back of her head, her eyes were now locked on the computer screen in front of her, and a trickle of blood dripped down her wounded arm.
Her vision blurred, and all too clearly she could imagine this scene playing out at her family’s farm. How had her father felt when faced with this decision? Had he died protecting her? Or had his foremost concern been for the intelligence operatives he had dedicated his life to supporting?
She would never know the answer to her questions, but she liked to think it was both. Now she was faced with a nearly identical situation. She could cooperate and possibly live a little longer, or she could ensure the failsafe protocols remained intact. The guardians would have to start over if she died, no longer able to coordinate intelligence or utilize the resources the ghosts so uniquely provided, but at least they would be alive for now and still keep their anonymity.
Her resolve and stubbornness were strengthened when Phil pressed the gun even harder against her.
“Let Jake go, or I won’t help you.”
“You know, from what I understand, your father made almost the exact same statement about you before he died.”
“And you killed him.”
“Not me.”
Charlotte swallowed the huge lump that had formed in her throat. “Maybe you’ll have better results than your friend did if you consider the request.”
“Or maybe you’re destined to join your father.” He reached down with his free hand and shoved the keyboard closer. “Now, type.”
Chapter 49
Ace slipped through the door, his gun drawn in preparation for whatever he might encounter. He hadn’t expected to find baby dolls flying through the air. He ducked just in time to avoid the first one, but the second clipped his left shoulder.
He started to return fire only to see his target was the man whose photos appeared in the back of his favorite novels, one of the people he was here to save.
“Knock it off,” Ace called to him. “I’m on your side.”
“I’ve heard that before.” Jake hurled another doll through the air in a blur of pink.
Ace ducked just as Xi Cheng popped into view and a gunshot whizzed past his right ear. Ace dropped to his knee and pulled the trigger of his own weapon.
Cheng fell with a thud to the floor.
Jake must have changed his mind about Ace’s loyalties, because he called out, “On your left!”
He rolled to his right as two more gunshots sounded. Another doll flew through the air, this one wearing purple. Ace sighted Owen, whose attention was torn between Jake and him. Ace squeezed off a shot, once more hitting where he aimed.
Owen crumpled to the floor with a groan of pain, and Ace quickly closed the distance between them to disarm him. The loss of blood indicated the bullet had hit an artery, and already the man was fading out of consciousness. Ace couldn’t worry about whether the man would live or die. He had other lives that had to take priority at the moment.
“Get the other one’s gun,” Ace called out to Jake.
Jake did as he was told, his voice unsteady when he called out, “I think he’s dead.”
“Where’s Charlotte?” Ace asked, then quickly corrected himself. “Hannah. Where’s Hannah?”
“The storage room in the back.”
Ace didn’t give Jake time to give any further explanation. He raced in the direction Jake had indicated, hearing the other man’s footsteps pounding right behind him.
* * *
Tears filled Charlotte’s eyes when she heard the gunshots followed by silence. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what had happened.
“There’s always the chance a doctor could still help him,” Phil said with the same tone one might use when scolding a small child. “It’s up to you now to decide if he gets that chance.”
The urge to run to Jake, to find out if he was indeed still breathing, was so strong she nearly followed it despite the gun barrel still pressed to her head. Phil’s hand gripping her shoulder ultimately prevented her from following through.
Her eyes stared straight ahead, the computer screen blurring in front of her. She was going to die. It was possible Jake was already dead. She put her fingers on the keyboard and started to type in a password.
“That’s more like it.”
Thoughts and memories merged together as she took a deep breath, a breath that was likely her last. She hit the enter key, and the grip on her shoulder tightened painfully when the computer screen displayed a familiar flashing image: “System override. Failsafe system initiated.”
“No!”
A gunshot echoed through the small room, and blood splattered onto the screen. Charlotte heard her own scream and felt the moisture of blood on the back of her neck and arms, but it took her a second to realize she was still alive.
“Hannah!” The sound of Jake’s voice shocked her enough to cause her to push out of her chair and turn. Immediately behind her, Phil’s body was crumpled on the floor, blood pooling beneath it.
Her knees nearly gave way at the sight, her surprise heightening further when she saw Ace standing in the doorway beside Jake. Relief and surprise fused with her lingering adrenaline and fear and spilled over as tears.
The intensity in Jake’s expression appeared to mirror her own emotions. He swept into the room, taking her unwounded hand and tugging her toward him. Then he was hugging her so fiercely she could barely breathe.
She was vaguely aware of Ace checking Phil for a pulse, but she kept her eyes averted from the man she had been so certain was going to kill her. “Where are the other two?”
“One’s dead, and the other is wounded,” Ace said. “Kade is only a few minutes behind me. He’ll coordinate with the local authorities and our friends at Langley.”
Her good arm still gripping Jake around the waist, Charlotte shifted to face him. “Phil said there was a possible friendly fire scenario between a CIA operative and a group of Navy SEALs. He showed me a signal on his phone that it was supposed to happen a few minutes ago. Any truth to that?”
“I doubt it,” Ace said, “but I’ll have Kade check
it out. Most likely he set up a fake signal. He would have the tech skills to do it.”
Charlotte faced him more fully now. “How in the world did you find us?”
“I followed the images from the camera you put on the front of their car.”
“I didn’t put a camera on their car.”
“Actually, that was me,” Jake said.
“What? How?” Charlotte asked.
“I grabbed one when I picked that fight with Cheng.”
Understanding dawned. “You lost on purpose and pretended to trip when he was dragging you toward the car.”
“Yeah. I put a hand on the car by the headlight and hoped someone would figure out where we were.”
“That was brilliant,” Charlotte said, impressed.
“It really was,” Ace agreed. He reached out a hand, and Jake released Charlotte long enough to shake it. “You may never know how many lives you saved tonight. Your efforts are greatly appreciated.”
“I’m just glad it all worked out.” He glanced at Phil’s body. “For us, anyway.”
Ace squatted down and looked at the face of the man he’d shot and killed. “At least now we know where the leak came from.”
“I thought it was from Owen Werthcamp.”
“Owen knew about the guardian program from his father, but I couldn’t figure out how he’d been able to use that information to find your dad.” Ace straightened before he continued. “This is Phil Campbell, the NSA liaison to Senator Spalding’s office.”
“I thought the senator didn’t use any of his staff when dealing with our funding or anything else regarding the guardians.”
“He doesn’t. My guess is this guy got a job with the senator for the express purpose of gaining access to the senator’s private files.”
“How long has he been working for the senator?” Jake asked.
“Five years, give or take.”
“That’s a long time to wait for gaining access.”
“Senator Spalding had a bout with pneumonia a few months ago. I’m guessing that’s when Phil finally managed to find what he was looking for.”
“Do you think he had anyone else working with him?”
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