by Dale Mayer
Chapter 6
She hadn’t meant to let that slip out. At least not that way. It was the truth, but she hadn’t wanted him to see her inner pain – or her worry.
“Because I like you,” he said lightly. “Because I love what we had. And I’d like to try again.”
“I’m nothing to you,” she answered calmly. “We had a fun weekend but knew it wasn’t to be. Why would you want to go back to that time in our lives?”
“That’s not what I’m trying to do,” he protested. “I’m saying what we had was wonderful, but the timing wasn’t right.” His smile was bright and captivating. “Now it’s a different time. We’re different people. Maybe it’s the right time.”
“I don’t know that I’m ready for a relationship. I just came out of a long-term one.”
“Good. That means you’re free for me.” He flashed that smile again.
She laughed in spite of herself. “Maybe and maybe not.”
“As long as you don’t say no, then it’s all good.”
She went to open her mouth and say that exact word but he kissed her lips shut then quickly pulled back. “Don’t say it.”
“Don’t kiss me,” she bit off. “We aren’t that kind of friends.”
“What kind of friends is that? Ones who care about each other? Ones who can wrap an arm around each other and give comfort?” he asked as he did exactly that.
“Everything is so lighthearted to you. A game.” She shook her head. “You haven’t changed.”
“I have,” he protested. “Honest, but I’m trying to find a common ground here for us. A way forward and you keep blocking me.”
She shot him a look as they approached the hangar. “You’re like a puppy.”
He snorted. “I wasn’t three years ago and I wasn’t on the mission yesterday.” That gaze turned on her. “Or was I?”
She smiled. “No,” she whispered. “You were all man then.”
He winked.
And damn if she didn’t feel color rising up her neck and face. “You’re deadly.”
“We’re deadly together,” he whispered. “Remember that.”
“It was a long time ago.”
“For me it’s like it was yesterday.”
She glanced at him sharply. “Really?”
He shifted uncomfortably and she realized it was his turn to be embarrassed. But he lifted his head and let her glimpse the man behind the jovial face. To see that he was serious. She gave him the sweetest of smiles. “It’s nice to know I was unforgettable.”
“You left soon after, and I didn’t have a chance to tell you how much,” he whispered. “I didn’t even know you were leaving that fast.”
There was pain in his voice. She sighed and reached out a hand. “I had wanted to spend time with you for a year before that. But you never saw me. You were always with someone else, and I didn’t want to be someone else. But when I knew I was leaving, I was determined to take that little bit of you with me.”
He gave her the slowest dawning smile that reached into her very soul. She shook her head. “This is way too fast. I moved on. I fell in love. Got engaged. Then when that broke up, I came back here.”
“To me.” He nodded. “Perfect.”
“No,” she said laughing. “Not to you. I haven’t been holding a torch for you. As I recall we were both happy to walk away.”
“Not sure about the happy part,” he said. “I can tell you that if I was at the time, I wasn’t soon after. I very quickly realized that we’d had something special. I missed it – you – all these years.”
*
She blinked at him. Then again.
He winced. “A little too much too fast, huh?”
He reached for the door handle in front of them. “I know. Who knew?” He tossed her a light grin hoping he wasn’t crossing a line but she was hot, a damned good pilot, and she was going to be overrun by men in a heartbeat. He wanted to make sure his heart was first.
“Not me,” she muttered.
She shook her head and walked into the huge hangar. Six helicopters stretched out in front of them in various states of repairs. “Did Mason really ask you to find something belonging to Stone?” she asked as she strode across the floor. “Or was that a cover up for you in case anyone asked?”
“Both.”
The helicopter was being worked on. The side panel was going through a quick switch out. But as she didn’t see anyone working on the machine at that moment, and with her new suspicions she had to admit to feeling slightly nervous seeing the machine was sitting here unprotected.
Accessible.
She murmured to Evan. “Is this standard?”
“This is standard. There is security around even though we aren’t going to see them just standing around being suspicious of everyone.”
She frowned. That didn’t make her feel any better. “But that also means anyone could come in here and sabotage the machines.”
“In theory anyone on base could do just that, but they’d have to be already working on the machines to gain access or have a specific reason to gain access, and the buildings are all under video security. North Island isn’t open to just anyone.”
“That makes me feel a little better,” she muttered. “Until you consider that the video cameras are great to look at after a crime has been committed.”
“You’re really paranoid, aren’t you?”
“No, not really. It’s just when you have a paradigm shift the world around you looks different. And now I realize how vulnerable the machines are.”
He laughed. “They aren’t. They are in a secure location, checked before and assessed after every flight. If there was something to find it would have been found.”
She nodded but didn’t appear to believe him.
Then she flew these machines. He wanted to learn but hadn’t had the time or the opportunity yet. His life often depended on the pilot’s skill and the machine’s soundness. As he stared at the helicopter in front of them, he realized she had reason to be concerned. If the sabotage was external then everything he just said would apply. But if it was internal then there were many less safeguards. And if the person had an exit strategy then the damage could be set in motion and the guilty party could get away without anyone knowing the difference. Then there were the newly radicalized that were all too eager to become suicide bombers.
He frowned not liking the direction of his thoughts.
Her concern was catching.
She hopped up into the helicopter, stood and looked around.
He watched her. There was a stillness to her movements as if she was seeing, hearing something – no maybe sensing something. He’d seen it over and over again. The inner workings of the brain often refused to stay contained by the science of what was possible. He knew many a pilot with an unnatural connection to their machines and the way they could make them respond to a touch. It was both fascinating and terrifying.
And watching her right now was an eerie reflection of Ice when he’d seen her do something similar. She’d found a problem in a fuel line that time. It was a faulty line, not sabotage, but she’d insisted the entire machine be gone over anyway.
As he’d flown in that machine hours later, he’d respected her sensory perception.
He’d love to know that Megan had the same instinct.
He watched and waited. She turned in a slow circle, her gaze assessing as it landed on each section of the helicopter as if mentally checking off a list in her head that all was well.
Suddenly, she moved and sat down in her seat.
“Anything wrong?” he asked cautiously, not sure what she’d just been doing.
“No, I think it’s all fine,” she said. “So far.”
He nodded and hopped in, going to where Stone had been lying. The bottom of the helicopter had been hosed out already so if there was anything on the bottom before then it would have been washed out. Or caught up somewhat. He went down on his hands and knees and searched the metal flo
oring. Nothing to the left. Nothing to the right.
He started to stand again but she spoke from behind him. “What’s that?”
He turned, noticed the direction she was pointing, and found a tiny piece of cloth. “Looks like a bit of cloth from one of the uniforms. The metal is standing high here so it could have caught on the man’s sleeve when they cleaned out under here.”
“Right.” Silence for a moment, and he turned around to see her heading to the back of the machine. He finished his perusal and joined her. “I couldn’t see anything.”
“That’s too bad. Looks like when he lost his lucky piece he also lost out on his luck,” she commented.
“Superstitious?”
She shook her head but he knew some men were. Some wore lucky socks on a mission or held a picture of the woman they loved, or carried a momento of some kind that would keep them safe and that momento ranged from crosses to rocks to a woman’s scarf to the same piece of hard liquorice candy – now thoroughly covered in lint and dirt.
But whatever worked for the men…
Who was he to judge? Considering he’d been secretly pining for the woman in front of him and even had the same type of wine he’d cracked open on their first night sitting at home in case she ever returned. Now for the first time in a long time he had to wonder if maybe he might finally get to open it.
Chapter 7
It was hard to not feel a little foolish, but Megan had needed to come to the hangar and look. Nothing appeared wrong, but she felt better making sure the machine was safe and sound. That maintenance was in progress didn’t change the fact that no one was here or that anyone could have done something. The bottom line was if someone wanted to be an asshole they’d manage it somehow.
After a good look around, Evan jumped down to the floor.
As she hopped down, she heard someone call out.
She spun around to see Fred, one of the oldest mechanics in the place, walking toward her, a proverbial cookie in his hand. He was in great shape but his weakness was sugary treats, and he could always be found with something. Even if it was only a chocolate bar sticking out of his pocket.
“What’s the matter,” he called out to her, a frown on his face.
She shook her head and smiled at him. “It was a rough day yesterday. I wanted to come back. Silly, huh?” She motioned to Evan at her side. “Stone is missing his lucky cross, so Evan is here to look for it.”
She glanced from Evan back to Fred, then asked, “You didn’t see it, did you?”
“No – No one turned anything like that in either.” Fred shook his head. “Bad business this one. Stone is a good man. Don’t like to see anyone lose a limb, but he’s got the right attitude and if anyone can surmount this he can.”
“He does,” Evan agreed.
Personally, Megan didn’t give a damn if anyone did have the right attitude. It was still a hell of a loss, and he might feel even more pressure as everyone figured he’d handle his injury without a problem. He had the right to be angry and feel defeated for a while. It was that he shouldn’t wallow. Life had to be lived. With or without a leg. She just hoped he got to keep the one. There were worse things obviously, but it still was going to be a hell of a challenge.
“He’s up for it,” Fred said, making her realize she’d been muttering out loud. “Stone and Levi are a pair of big hard asses.”
Evan laughed. “So are Merk and Rhodes.”
Fred nodded. “That’s one hell of a special ops team. Betrayal sucks.” He spat on the floor and popped the last bite of cookie into this mouth. “What the hell is this world coming to?”
There was no good answer so she walked away with a nod.
“Hey, Evan,” Fred called out.
Evan turned to see one of Fred’s mechanics in the machine holding up a cell phone.
“Is that yours?” Fred asked, nodding toward the item.
Evan checked his pocket then swore. “Thanks, it must have slipped out when I was searching.” He grabbed it up then returned to where Megan waited for him.
“Satisfied?” Evan asked as they stepped out into the sunlight.
“That we haven’t found anything means nothing,” she said. “We need to look at the video cameras. Maybe there were more people hidden inside?”
“And we can do that.”
She turned to glance at him. “Really?”
“Mason was going to ask for it.” With perfect timing his phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket and read the message out loud. “Approval granted to view the cameras on northeast corner of the hangar where HVAC repair was done.”
She brightened. “Awesome.” And didn’t it figure they were going to be limited to just that one camera. Still, as long as they could see no one else came or went she’d be satisfied. Until her mind came up with another possible scenario. “Where do we go?”
“Security.”
She nodded. Like she knew where that was. “Lead the way.”
He did. By the time they reached the room with the security cameras, they’d had to pass two checkpoints. She was happy to see the base taking the threat seriously.
Evan didn’t appear to notice.
Inside, the video they’d requested was loaded onto one screen off to the side for their viewing.
Evan pressed play and they watched the van approach and disappear around the corner before appearing in front of the hangar again. “Stop the video,” she said. “How long is it out of sight?”
He replayed the video and they checked the timing. “Eight seconds.”
“Okay. Not enough time for someone to have stopped, gotten out and the van to have continued to drive.”
They played the video again. This time they watched it all the way through. The van came to a stop. The driver hopped out as did the passenger. A moment later, clipboards in hand, the men removed piping, ducting, and a large box from the van.
She caught her breath at the size of the box, but it was opened and unpacked to reveal a new side panel for one of the systems. “Why a new side panel?” she muttered.
Evan laughed. “The HVAC system is out of the way but not that much. Someone or something probably slammed into it.”
“Aren’t they on the roof?”
He nodded. “They are but that means little. It could have been loosened in that bad storm we had last week. If it was it’s going to be a bitch to tighten again, it’s easier to just replace the panel.”
“Makes sense.” She’d seen enough stripped bolts and slots too large to hold anything tight. As they watched, the men quickly went about their business. They were off camera for a long time but the van stayed in one place. Evan fast-forwarded the video.
“I guess that answers that,” Evan said as the two men returned to the van, turned it around and exited again. It went off screen on the return journey, a shorter period.
“They are moving faster now,” she commented.
“Going home. Job is done and now they know where they are going.”
She nodded. “So it looks normal to you?”
Evan straightened. “It does.” He eyed her carefully. “You good now?”
She stared down at the video. “Can you go back to where the van arrives and is off screen for those eight seconds?”
He shot her a look but didn’t say anything. He quickly hit replay. She studied the movements on screen, then hit stop, rewound and came back to the spot that bothered her.
“What’s the matter?”
“It’s stupid but I can’t help but wonder if there’s a chance men could have slipped out the back in this time. If the van was still moving, and they opened, hopped out, and shut the door, could they do it in eight seconds?”
*
Evan studied her face. She was really concerned about this. He went back to the image of the van as it just started to move around the corner. Then zoomed in to the driver’s side window. There was the driver, he leaned forward as if looking where he was supposed to go. Normal. Check. He studied h
is hand position. Both on either side of the wheel, both clearly visible. Again. Normal. Check. He studied the side of the van. It had no side windows and bore the logo of Aston’s Heating and Plumbing. It would be easy enough to check if that was the company that held the maintenance contract for these systems. He studied what he could see of the back of the van. Which given the angle was a fair bit. Not the license plate but that could be pulled off any number of other cameras.
“The brake light is on,” Megan tapped the monitor. “Why?”
“He’s peering forward as if looking for where he was going to park,” Evan said. “Chances are he’s slowed down to a crawl anyway.”
“So he’s riding the brakes?”
“Looks that way.” Evan frowned. “Not unusual.”
And then he saw it. “Shit.”
“What?” She leaned forward studying the frozen screen.
Evan realized the room was too quiet. Men had turned in their seats to study what they were doing. What they might have found.
Steven, head of security, an old friend, and a long time navy man walked over. “What are you looking for and what do you think you found?”
Steven studied the monitor. Then leaned over and shifted the video to the large wall screen on the left. “Is that easier?”
“Yes,” Evan said softly, walking over to the wall. “Megan, do you see it?”
“I do now,” she whispered.
“Don’t keep us in suspense,” Steven said impatiently. “What did you see? We honored the request but there was no explanation.”
“I couldn’t get out of my head the possibility that maybe somehow men had been allowed onto the base that shouldn’t be here.”
Steven’s face flattened. “Explain,” he barked.
Evan quickly filled him in. “So we didn’t have anything specific to go on, but now we have a little more.”
Steven walked over to the wall screen and studied the time stamp and the image. “Eight seconds isn’t very long,” he muttered.
“No, but it’s long enough.”
Steven reached out and tapped the back of the van. “Damn.”
Evan smiled. “Exactly. They jumped the gun.”