by Dana Marton
“Everything looks good.” Spike finished his inspection. “I’m just gonna check in with the Colonel to tell him Alex is on his way, then nothing left to do but to wait. Do you play poker?” He pulled a pack of cards from an outer pocket of the duffel bag at his feet with a smile. “I thought it would help us kill some time.”
She smiled back at him. Spike was all right. He had an easygoing manner, none of the dark looks and hard silences Alex wore like an ever-present cloak.
She missed Alex.
Better get used to it. She was unlikely to ever see him again. The pain in her chest deepened. She refused to play the “what if” game. She had to be honest with herself. Just as Alex had been. He’d never pretended to be anyone other than who he was. They shared a morning of glorious lovemaking. She couldn’t have more of him than that. She was mature enough to understand it.
“Poker sounds great,” she said, then headed to the bathroom to throw some more cold water on her face to stop the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes.
She barely closed the door when a deafening explosion shook the house and nearly knocked her off her feet. She tried to open the door, had to shove hard as it seemed blocked.
“Spike?” she yelled, but could barely hear her own voice from the ringing in her ears. No response. Fear gave her strength. She pushed harder.
When she finally managed to get out, she could see little else than smoke, fire, dust and rubble everywhere.
They had come for her, and Alex wasn’t here.
“Spike?” she shouted over the security alarm as she climbed over what had once been a coffee table to get out of the bathroom.
She saw movement by the window and stepped toward it on shaky legs. Spike peered through the dust and smoke. No, not Spike she realized too late as the masked man started for her. Another figure climbed in behind him. And another…and another.
Panic squeezed her chest as she scrambled back, choking on the air, and headed for the staircase. She locked the steel reinforced door behind her and looked around for somewhere to hide, or a way to get out. Through the holes in the roof, she could see the sky growing dark with storm clouds. She darted from one dilapidated room to the next, all empty with large gaps in the walls. Nowhere to hide there.
Somebody was banging against the door. She glanced at the window at the end of the hallway. The steel door would hold up to bullets, but her pursuers had explosives and she doubted it would be long before they used them.
She struggled with the window, stuck from years of neglect. She had to get out, then go back in downstairs to find Spike. He might be injured, and if he wasn’t, they’d be better off fighting together. The door flew open with a loud bang behind her just as the window finally opened. She had barely enough time to look before she jumped.
Her fall was broken by the unkempt rhododendron bushes enough so she didn’t break her neck, but still got badly scraped and bruised. Get up, her mother’s voice said in her head. She couldn’t. She lay on her side for a second, her shoulder drenched in pulsing pain, the air knocked out of her.
Two masked men ran toward her, and she scrambled to get away. If she could get as far as the cornfield— They reached her before she got around the corner. The first one threw himself at her and knocked her to the ground. She bit, scratched and kicked, nearly managing to get him off. Then he grabbed her necklace from behind and pulled hard. She struggled for air.
The second stood over them, his gun aimed at her head, yelling at her in Chinese to stop.
She swore at him and kicked his partner full strength where it counted. He jerked up, the clasp broke, and she could breathe again. The man rolled off her and she got up on her knees, ignoring the gun at her head. If he was going to kill her, then let him get it over with. She was determined to go out fighting.
Her gaze met his as she began to rise. Then he turned his gun around and slammed the butt into her temple. The pain was intense but only for a moment. Then darkness came and she felt nothing.
ALEX STARED into the retina scanner at the gate, then pulled into the parking lot once it identified him and authorized entrance.
He got out of the car and walked to the door, doing his best to fight off the sense of foreboding that had settled into his bones during his two-hour drive to Washington. He didn’t feel right, and it was more than the pain of his burns or the deep throbbing in his shoulder. They were probably no worse than before, just seemed like that because he didn’t have anything else to focus on. The farther he’d gotten from the safe house the worse he felt.
Better concentrate on how he would handle Colonel Wilson. He reached the door and stopped for another retina scan then walked in, nodding to the security guards who knew him by sight.
First off, he would refuse to go to the hospital. He was doing fine, the pain was bearable, and he preferred it by far to the prison of inactivity. Secondly, he would ask to be kept on the Barrington case. He had decided that on the way down. Whether Nicola wanted him there or not, he wanted to see the case to the end, until she was safe. He could always provide covert protection if that was the only way, without her ever knowing. At least he would get to see her again.
He took the staircase up to the fourth floor out of habit. He didn’t like elevators. They were too easy to get trapped in—a particular incident in Belize came to mind. The Colonel’s office was next to last on the left side of the hallway.
“Hello, Sylvia.” He walked into the spacious room decorated with antique maps of the world, one of Colonel Wilson’s weaknesses.
The Colonel’s secretary, an ex-Marine in her forties with a hell of a figure and a tougher-than-steel attitude, looked up at him with a smile. “Good to see you, Alex. What happened to your arm?” She came out of her seat to get a better look.
He had figured she would know. Spike must have called to check in by now.
“A minor accident,” he said, grateful for Spike’s discretion. It’d be easier to play it down and convince the Colonel he was good to go back, if the man hadn’t already made up his mind.
“Can I see the Colonel?” He knew better than to barge by her. Sylvia protected the office like a lady dragon protected her lair; the Glock on her side gave fair warning to anyone who was smart enough to pay attention. And Alex liked to think he was smart enough, especially after the tales he had heard of her tackling new recruits now and then who misunderstood the power structure in the front office.
He could have probably taken Sylvia in hand-to-hand combat, but didn’t think the Colonel would appreciate him rolling around on the carpet with her. Colonel Wilson was as protective of his secretary as she was of him. One could say she was another of his weaknesses. Sometimes Alex wondered how long it would take before the man realized it.
“Sorry, Alex.” She went back to her seat. “He just got called over to the DHS. I have no idea when he’ll return. You’re welcome to wait.”
Alex nodded. The Colonel reported straight to the Homeland Security Secretary.
“Thanks, but I might as well go and take care of a couple of things, then come back. Thompson checked in lately?”
“Heard you were working the same case. He called in about half an hour ago from the Hill. Not much going on there. He’s been sitting outside the senator’s office all morning.”
“Thanks, Sylvia. I’ll be back in an hour or so. Can I leave this with you?” He gave her his broken cell phone. “I don’t know if it can be fixed.”
“No problem. I’ll have a new one for you by the time you get back.”
He left, glad for the extra time. Something didn’t add up in this case. He was missing a piece of the puzzle. And he had a strong suspicion he knew who held it.
Time to see the senator.
“I TOLD HER TO STAY in Washington. Offered to pay for her security.” Senator Barrington shook his graying head as he sat in his burgundy-leather executive chair in his Capitol Hill office.
If he hadn’t known the man was related to Nicola, Alex would
n’t have been able to guess it. They didn’t look alike. She was all soft curves while he had so many angles he could have been drawn with Etch A Sketch.
“She’s safe now.” Alex took in the man’s surroundings that spoke of success and old money. “Is there anything else about your time in China you might not have remembered until now? Even if it seems insignificant. Anyone you think might be in a position to set up something drastic like this?”
Barrington shook his head again. “I already told everything to you people. My contacts were mainly with other diplomats, government officials. I had to deliver a lot of bad news, but I don’t see how anyone could hold that against me. I was a representative of the United States. I didn’t make those decisions, I merely conveyed them.”
“The attacks seem personal. It appears they’re targeting your daughter, rather than you. Do you have any idea why?”
“Probably because I always had fairly good security. They couldn’t hurt me, so they decided to get to me through her?” He rubbed his forehead.
Not likely. If they wanted to get the senator, they would have found a way. “Can you think of any reason why someone would want to go after you that bad?”
He looked down, his angular face pale with exhaustion. “No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Stop badgering me, I already told you everything I could.” He stood, his frustration showing in his sudden choppy movements.
He was clearly agitated and worried enough already, but Alex couldn’t leave Barrington alone no matter how much the man wished it. Not yet. Not until he had some answers. “With all due respect, Senator, your daughter’s life is at stake.”
The lines on his face seemed to deepen while he collected himself. “I thought you were providing her with sufficient protection so we didn’t have to worry about her life.”
“We are. But as it is, we can only get these terrorists if and when they make their next attempt. If we knew who they were, we could track them down and take them out of the picture long before they got anywhere near Nicola.”
The man sank back into his seat. “I hate this.”
“I’m sure it’s very stressful for you, sir.”
“There was a man in China…” He turned to the window, but stared into the air instead of looking out.
“Yes?”
“General Meng.”
“Did you have any problems with him?”
“No, no problems. At one point the embassy was trying to reach out to various Chinese leaders to improve relations. He was invited to a few of those fancy receptions and we talked some. He had a daughter Nicola’s age and the girls hit it off. Sort of became friends. I suppose Nicola must have been lonely.”
“Did you have an argument with the General?”
“On the contrary. He was a rather nice fellow. We had some good talks. He was a very influential man within the army, who very much supported his country’s growth.”
“What kind of growth?”
“Toward democracy.”
That couldn’t have gone down well with his superiors. “What happened?”
“I encouraged him, of course. Change had been our hope for that country for decades. Unfortunately, he took my enthusiasm literally as U.S. support and ended up involved in some rather unfortunate business.”
Alex leaned forward in his chair, hoping for a clue to follow.
“He spoke up openly for democracy and was of course severely ostracized. He thought with the Chinese army and the United States behind him, he could make certain things happen, but he was wrong on both counts.”
The senator got out of his chair, then sat back down again, as if at a loss as to what to do. “He was thrown into prison. His soldiers followed their new general, and the U.S. decided not to risk diplomatic relations by making an issue out of the incident.” He rubbed his forehead again. “He died in prison. Very unfortunate. I came back to the States not long after that.”
Alex stood, ready to go. He’d had high hopes for the General, but the man was dead. His answer must come from somewhere else.
“Did he have a son?” He asked from the door. You could never discount familial loyalty when it came to revenge.
“Just the daughter.”
“Thank you for taking the time to talk to me.”
“No problem.” The senator seemed to have shrunken in his chair. “I wish I could have helped more. How is Nicola holding up?”
“Very well, sir. She’s a brave young woman.”
“Is she? I know her so little. Should have insisted on more security for her from the beginning. I didn’t think she’d agree to it, you know. I was sure if I forced it on her she’d do whatever she could to dodge the guards. She did that in China once. Sneaked out of the embassy and gave her mother and me a fright. She never liked what I did for a living.”
Alex remained silent. It wasn’t his place to comment.
The senator looked him straight in the eye. “Take good care of her. Whatever else happens, she must be safe.”
“Yes, sir,” he said before he left.
THE DRIVE BACK to SDDU headquarters took less than thirty minutes.
Sylvia looked up and smiled as Alex entered the door. “Go right in, the Colonel is waiting for you.”
“Sylvia says you’re injured.” Colonel Wilson, a man sporting plenty of battle scars of his own, came to his feet to greet Alex as soon as he walked in.
Alex closed the door behind him. He should have put on a turtleneck before coming to Washington. Then again, in the middle of July, that would probably have aroused suspicion. Who was he kidding, no matter what he did, there would have been no escaping Colonel Wilson. “Nothing serious.”
“I’ll just wait on the official medical opinion on that.”
“No time.”
“You won’t be shipping out until tonight.”
“About that, I was wondering if I could ask a favor.”
“Anything. God knows I owe you a few.”
“You don’t owe me anything, Colonel, but I’d appreciate this just the same. It’s about the Barrington case.”
“Spike has it in hand, I trust.”
“Yeah, but something doesn’t add up. First they tried to shoot her, then the fire. I’ve been wondering…”
“I trust your judgment, Alex. If you have any ideas I want to hear them.”
“Something seems off with the attacks. Like this last one.”
“Lucky they didn’t have a bomb.”
“Exactly. At first I thought they just wanted to create a diversion, something to make us come running outside where they could gun her down. They had a lot of men waiting for us.”
The Colonel nodded. “One good sniper could have done the job.”
“And back to the bomb issue,” Alex went on. “Why didn’t they use one? If all they wanted was to kill her? Why start a fire in the garage instead of setting off a bomb in the house?”
“You don’t think they want to kill her?”
“No, sir. Now that I have had time to consider it, I think they want to kidnap her.”
“But then why shoot at her at the market?”
“Spike told me all the bullets were high, way off. What if they shot up the place to make sure everyone kept down and no one interfered when they tried to grab her?”
“A kidnapping for what purpose?”
“I don’t know yet. To blackmail her father for money perhaps? To make him vote their way in some issue important to them?” Alex shrugged, frustrated by too many unanswered questions.
The Colonel narrowed his eyes as he considered this theory. He grabbed the phone and dialed, waited for a while then hung up.
“Spike’s cell is out of service.” His expression turned serious.
Alex’s heart jumped. “Are the Feds there yet?”
“Haven’t even left.”
“I’m going back.”
The Colonel nodded. “Head over to FBI headquarters. I’ll call ahead and get you a chopper an
d as many men as I can.”
“Thanks. One more thing. Could you check on what we have on a General Meng and his daughter?”
“No problem. Take care of yourself, Alex.”
Sylvia looked up when he walked out of the Colonel’s office. “Your new phone just got dropped off.” She handed him a brand-new cell phone. “They were able to recover the chip from the old one, so it’s loaded the same. All your information is still in there.”
“Thanks, Sylvia. You’re the best.” He clipped the phone on his belt, then took off to find Nicola.
Chapter Nine
Nicola opened her eyes, struggling with the buzz of pain in her head. Alex. She could have sworn she’d heard him talking to her. She peered around in the semidarkness. Must have dreamt his voice. She was definitely alone.
Stone walls, solid-looking oak door, a lightbulb hanging from a wire overhead. She was in some kind of a basement, the air cold and dank, the smell of mold permeating the small room. She shivered, wanting to wrap her arms around herself but couldn’t. They were tied behind her back.
Her head throbbed as she turned and focused on the small window behind her, too high to see anything. Still daylight though, that much she could tell. How long had she been out? She squirmed on the chair she was tied to, the only piece of furniture in the barren room. The ropes held tight.
From the fact that they hadn’t gagged her, it was safe to assume they weren’t worried about her calling for help. No sense wasting her breath trying it. And if she didn’t make too much noise, maybe her captors wouldn’t realize for a while that she was awake, which could give her precious time to plan her escape.
She tested the ropes again. Only her wrists were tied, linked together around the back of the chair. She slid her hands a few inches up and down. They moved freely. She wasn’t tied to the chair, thank God. They had been either careless or confident that she wouldn’t be able to escape from the room.
If Alex were here, he’d find a way out.
Nicola struggled to stand, dragging the chair with her, shaking it to get loose. She felt her hands slide up on the back an inch or so, then a little more. She wiggled her shoulders from side to side until the chair finally fell away with a loud crash.