One Minute to Midnight (Black Ops: Automatik)

by Nico Rosso

  “I’m airtight.” She stepped on the accelerator and put more distance between them and the police car.

  He gripped the handle above the side window. “Downright scary, that’s what you are.”

  She smiled warmly. “Means a lot coming from an operator like you.”

  The police car charged harder after them, siren screaming full strength. If those sons of bitches could disappear, then he and Mary could finish the conversation he’d leaped into.

  “Pull to the right,” the megaphone on the cop car blared. “Pull to the right. Now!”

  He gritted his teeth, hating being a passenger. “Test their authority a little bit and they get pissed.”

  “They’re white-knuckling it.” She shifted, readying herself. “We’re boogying.”

  She pulled hard to the left and swerved into the opposite lane. The police car took a moment to react. Ben could’ve leaned out the window with his pistol and taken out the tires and cooling system. But shots fired at a cop would light the area up like dropping a nuke.

  When the cop car got back behind them, Mary stood harder on the accelerator and swerved back into the correct lane. The police started to come alongside them. Mary toyed with them, pulling ahead a bit and drawing them into a faster chase.

  “They’re squawking for backup.” Ben didn’t recognize either cop from the rec center. The passenger looked like he was howling into his radio. The tint on the stolen car’s windows kept Ben and Mary’s identity hidden.

  She shrugged coolly. “There won’t be time.”

  Ben knew that tone of voice from their other field ops. It was right before she pulled the trigger. He braced himself.

  She tapped on the brakes and let the police car speed mostly past them. When the cops’ back fender lined up with Mary and Ben’s front bumper, she tugged the wheel in their direction. Ben slammed against the inside of the door as the impact shook the car. Metal crunched, and tires screeched. She gave the car more gas and turned farther into the rear side of the cops. Their back end wobbled off track, and their car was quickly sliding sideways along the highway in front of them.

  Mary and Ben ducked so they couldn’t be seen through the front windshield. Driving blind, she sped faster until they impacted the cops again. Her head pressed into his shoulder. There wasn’t a trace of panic in her body. After the impacts, they were traveling about forty miles an hour. If they had to, they could deploy from the doors and maybe not get too hurt as they rolled along the asphalt.

  But she maintained her tactic. Their car ground into the cops’, then broke free. As soon as they sped unhindered on the highway, Mary and Ben both popped up to assess. He turned and saw the cop car spinning into a steep shoulder on the side of the road. Neither of the men should be injured, but the car was out of commission in the ditch. Its headlights streaked up into the dust cloud the car had twisted out of the dirt.

  Mary didn’t let up. She sped along the highway and to the edge of town. The car thundered over train tracks and bounced along rutted alleys. She flicked the headlights off and wove through backstreets, moving farther from the highway.

  Red and blue police lights strobed against the buildings closer to the center of town. Ben watched three cars blast along the empty roads. One car stayed on the highway toward the immobilized officers. The other cars split at the edge of the highway. One searched one side of town, the other came toward their area.

  But he and Mary were already gone.

  The black car slipped ghostlike through the fringe of Morris Flats. Mary slowed further when they reached the north-south four-lane highway.

  “Here’s where we bail.” She undid her seat belt and drove with one hand on the door handle. “Make it look like friends picked them up and busted out of town.”

  Ben readied himself. “I like partying with you.”

  She drove them toward a weedy crescent in the hollow of an on-ramp. They both opened their doors and dove out while the car was still rolling. Ben was already up to speed, running, when he hit the pavement. Mary tracked right with him. Neither looked back as the car churned through dirt and crunched into the thick greenery.

  A full-out sprint narrowed the field of action. If problems came on, they came on fast, so Ben downshifted into a jog. The quiet of the early hours and the shadows next to the highway enveloped him and Mary. As they ran, they knocked off any remaining dirt or pine needles from their stalk in the state park.

  To an enemy, she’d be terrifying. Her expressionless face showed no effort from the run. All her gear remained completely silent, not a single tap from any of the straps on her rig. As a teammate, he couldn’t ask for anything more. But he had. He still didn’t know the consequence of exposing the truth to her. And himself.

  Police cars continued to zip through town, in all the wrong places. Ben spoke under his breath, “By the time they find the car, we’ll be the ghosts of fuck-you past.”

  She cracked a small smile. “Then we’ll be coming back to haunt them.”

  They made it past the rendezvous point where Mary had picked Ben up earlier in the morning. Two blocks later, they approached the hotel. They circled around the lit parking lot and found a path of shadows to the backside of the building. A service ladder led to a second-story patio, but a locked metal plate blocked the rungs. Ben straddled the ladder and shimmied up, holding only the sides.

  He half expected Mary to be waiting for him on the patio, as if she’d just slithered up the wall. But he saw her using the same technique on the ladder behind him. Usually her movements were so contained, but now he got to see her body stretching out and revealing lean strength. His own limbs ached to match hers, find the push and pull between them.

  But not on the run.

  They still weren’t secured for the night and continued into the hotel. A locked service door at the side of the patio blocked them. Ben took a knee and pulled out a set of lock picks. Mary hovered close, watching their backs.

  She barely whispered, “SEALs teach lock picking?”

  “I can be subtle.” The lock conceded to him, and he opened the door for her.

  She slipped in. He scanned behind them one last time before joining her and closing the door as quietly as possible. They’d made it to the hotel clean. Now they just had to get to their rooms.

  The metal service stairs threatened to clang like church bells, waking the whole hotel. Ben and Mary’s pace slowed. They stopped at the first landing and untucked their pants cuffs from their boots. At the second landing, they pulled off their tactical vests. She undid her black field shirt, revealing a vivid blue silk top.

  He marveled at her transformation. Something so soft beneath such a deadly exterior. Anything he wanted to say about how amazing she looked—warrior and woman—was lost in his suddenly dry throat. She wrapped her vest in the black shirt, making the whole thing look like she was carrying a coat. Under his tactical clothes was a simple maroon polo. He bundled his rig the same way she did and they stood at the door to the floor.

  She cracked it open and peered out. After her nod, they exited the service stairs and proceeded into the long, door-lined corridor. Her posture immediately changed. She strode with a wider swing in her hips and shoulders. He walked more casually at her side and draped his hand on her waist.

  Recon of the hotel had already revealed no cameras on the floors, but there could be no loose ends. The service door had let them out near the elevator, which dinged as they started to pass it on the way to Mary’s room. She immediately punched the up button and slinked on the wall. He leaned next to her, bringing their faces close together.

  She spoke playfully as the elevator doors opened. “Whatever you’ve got to show me in your room had better be good.” Her ability to turn her game on and off so quickly threw him off balance. It took a moment to get his head in the op and not just think about what he a
nd Mary might get to doing when alone.

  A uniformed hotel security officer he hadn’t seen before stepped out of the elevator.

  Ben ignored him and murmured to her, “Baby, it’s better than good.” He placed his hands on her hips and drew her close. His body immediately responded with a rush faster than the car chase. She swiveled under his grip. He bit back a growl as his cock thickened.

  The two of them turned like tango dancers into the elevator. The guard watched them a moment, shaking his head at the display of awkward seduction, then continued down the hallway.

  The doors closed, Mary pushed the button for his floor, then pulled away to burn him with a look. “Baby?”

  He tried to calm the building need in him and winked at her, slow and sleazy. “Beans knows how to treat a lady.”

  She remained unmoved. “Nickname from the Teams?”

  The doors opened, and the two of them ambled toward his room.

  “My mom,” he explained, putting his hand back on her hip. When they were apart, it was too far. When he touched her, it wasn’t close enough. “Listened to this old song, ‘Beans and Cornbread,’ and I’d dance along.”

  “You must’ve been a cute kid.” Was the warmth in her voice part of the act? God, he wanted it to be. It reached right into him as if she could see everything he was describing and asked more.

  “This was in high school.”

  Her laugh was surprised and genuine. “Seriously?”

  “Nah, baby, I was five.” He slipped his key card in and out of the lock, and the two of them tumbled into his room.

  As soon as he closed and locked the door, she put her wrapped-up gear down and sorted through her pockets. They were operators again, and he was rocked by her distance. Her movements were all business, but her voice was light. “You keep calling me ‘baby’ and I’m gonna put a hurt on you.”

  He ditched his vest on the bed and checked under the mattress and frame. Then he felt the HVAC vent covers for any scratched paint or replaced screws. “Maybe that’s what I go for.”

  She attached a small antenna device to her phone and brought up an app. The display showed several scans, from Wi-Fi to radio bugs. All came up clean.

  They both finally let out a long breath. He took his phone to the window and peeked through the slit between the closed curtains. Police lights flashed in several areas, searching. It looked like they still hadn’t found the stolen car. The tracker on his phone indicated Chief Pulaski was beyond the edge of town.

  Ben held up his phone for Mary to see. “The chief is out where you grounded his officers.”

  “We kicked the hive. They’ll buzz hard for a while.” She switched apps on her phone. “The mock real estate website took hits from a Daily Engine Yard server this afternoon. Kit Daily’s looking in.”

  “We can’t make too many waves. They’re gearing up and on the trigger.” He stepped away from the window and into the shadows of the room. “Who knew this hotel even had security?”

  Dim yellow light from the town below edged in around the curtains.

  “It’s not to keep the guests safe.” She was only a silhouette against the light walls. “Everything’s built to protect their business.” When she turned, her silk top gleamed like a night sea.

  Quiet thickened around them. Tonight’s mission was over. A success, with good intelligence gathered while evading detection. He was out of the field and still his heart pounded. His muscles urged him to move. Not because there was danger, but because Mary was so close. The lingering question that loomed between them had nothing to do with the operation.

  He remained still. They were alone. They were relatively safe. They had connected and could again. The kiss. The truths. He’d revealed what he’d discovered. He wanted her but couldn’t press. She’d disappear into smoke if she was cornered.

  She didn’t move. Only a few feet separated them. The bed was close. He’d known what to say with other women. He could be playful or seductive. Or a meaningful look, and the woman would understand his intent and let him know hers. He was lost with Mary. His truest words had been blunt. Could she see his face now? See how he needed to follow the connection they’d started?

  “I’m a sniper,” she explained with the shade of emotion shaking her voice. The light caught her eyes and revealed a deeper shimmer than he’d ever seen. “I prefer a long-distance relationship.”

  He wanted to reach out to her. For himself, and to let her know that she wasn’t alone. But maybe they were. A thick pain stabbed through his chest. Maybe they’d seen too much and had done too much to find their humanity again.

  “You know where to find me.” And he was still trying to find himself.

  “I do.” Her voice was barely louder than the rustle of her clothes as she turned away. She collected her gear and headed toward the door. He followed, and she paused. “I can handle myself.”

  “I know it. I’ve seen it.” He maintained a distance but didn’t back away. “Ben Louis wouldn’t just leave you to walk down there alone. And neither would I.”

  She nodded and opened the door. Hall light revealed her neutral face, unreadable. The two of them took their time getting to the elevator and leaned against opposite walls once inside. A thousand yards apart. She was dressed casually except for the combat boots, and her gear was hidden in the roll. But she was still alert and deadly.

  They exited the elevator and walked down her hall, neither touching the other. The pretense of the cover wasn’t shattered. It was early in the morning; they were tired and could be completely spent. She unlocked her door and scanned the interior of her room quickly while he checked up and down the hall. They were safe.

  “Thanks,” she whispered.

  “Anything for an extra minute.” He smiled. She returned it cautiously.

  The night was over. She receded into her room. He waited until he heard all the locks click before walking back up the hall to the elevator. The mission charged forward. Tonight’s op had allowed him to flex his muscles. More action was coming. He couldn’t wait and could’ve scaled the exterior of the hotel just to burn off the energy that still crackled through him. But it wasn’t the operation that tore the balance out from under him and pitched him into the unknown of want and need. The mystery of Mary—what he was with her and to her—remained unanswered.

  Chapter Eight

  The free hotel breakfast had no flavor for Mary. She ate to fuel her day. The burned coffee was the first thing to register on her palette and make her realize she was already halfway through her meal. She was alone in a corner of the hotel lobby. Ben had messaged earlier in the morning to let her know he was out in the field. The mission continued.

  Last night hadn’t needed to end. Ben had been close enough to touch in his room and it had taken all her effort to maintain her distance. Their contact throughout the operation had sparked her imagination. They’d already revealed so much with the kiss in the parking lot. Sharing themselves in the quiet of the car had brought more of her need to the surface. When he’d told her, flat out, that he wanted her, she’d been flooded with a rush of desire and fear. What would it be like to give herself so completely?

  She’d found that the distraction of escape and evasion from the cops hadn’t taken away the excitement of being that close to Ben. So much potential. Where would she go if she had more from him like that kiss? The bed had been right next to them. He was ready. She could see it in the rise and fall of his chest. And that desire had charged through her as well. She didn’t doubt his honesty but also knew his reputation. Would he still be there after they’d detonated all the explosives that had been building up?

  She finished the last of her food and pushed the tray away.

  It had seemed like protection to leave last night, but how could being safe tear her apart like this?

  Sleep had c
ome and gone, then she’d woken to a message from Automatik. They’d tracked Kit Daily’s service with the Marines. Most of the men from his unit had retired, except for a major serving as senior staff at the Blount Island support base in Florida. They handled logistics for deploying troops and equipment. The perfect spot for someone to skim weapons for a profit. While other Automatik assets were working that angle, she and Ben needed to maintain their penetration of Morris Flats.

  This morning, the operation came to her before she had to seek it out. Eddie Limert entered the lobby with a woman around his age. She wore a crisp pantsuit, sensible heels and a necklace that matched her earrings. Salon-blond hair and bright blue eyes. This must be the mayor. She waved at the woman behind the hotel counter like she was connecting with the working class while on the campaign trail. Mary almost expected an enthusiastic thumbs-up from the mayor.

  Instead she just got an outstretched hand as the woman and Eddie approached. “Mayor Donna Limert, but you can call me Donna.”

  Mary stood and shook her hand. “Mary Long. It’s been a pleasure discovering your town for the last couple of days.”

  “Eddie explained what you’re looking into, and I’m very intrigued.” Donna cupped Mary’s elbow in her manicured fingers and turned her toward the front door. “I happen to have a free morning, and there are a couple of areas you’re going to want to see firsthand.”

  The positive energy flowing from the mayor was not to be questioned. She called the shots, and it looked like the woman would maintain that same glossy smile if she was pouring you tea or dousing your living room with gasoline.

  “Trust me,” Eddie interjected, “you’ll fall in love with these possibilities.”

  “Sounds too good to pass up.” Mary gently removed herself from the mayor’s grip so she could collect her purse. “We’ll caravan.”