Exit 9 pe-2

by Brett Battles

She was lying on her bed but her eyes were open.

  He went back to her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

  “You didn’t wake me. I haven’t slept yet.”

  “Oh, sweetie. You need to sleep.”

  She tried to smile, but failed. “I didn’t…want to miss when you left.”

  He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too, Dad.”

  “Keep an eye on your brother.”

  “I will.”

  He went over to Brandon’s bed and kissed his sleeping son’s temple. “I love you, buddy.”

  As he reached the door, Josie said again, “Be careful.”

  Not wanting to lie, he said, “I’ll do my best.”

  The four other members of the team who were at the Ranch met Ash in the kitchen for breakfast. Matt and Rachel were there, too. There were no big speeches. In fact, few words were spoken at all.

  When it looked like everyone was done, Ash said, “I guess we should be off.”

  One by one, they shook hands with Matt and Rachel. Ash went last.

  “Josie and Brandon…” He couldn’t finish.

  “They’ll be fine,” Rachel said. “There’s a whole group of people here who will take care of them.”

  He nodded. “Thanks.”

  He shook hands with Matt and headed for the door, but stopped and looked back.

  “We’re planning on coming back.”

  “Good,” Matt said. “We’ll be waiting.”

  “All right. All right,” Madigan said between breaths. “Watch your left. You’re vulnerable there.”

  “Like hell I am,” Chloe shot back. She faked with her left, hit him with her right, then finally let her left fly.

  He grunted as her fist hit the punching mitt he was wearing.

  “Not bad,” he said. “But I know you can do better.”

  He moved to his left, and she bounced around to the right.

  They were outside the gym, on the large padded surface near the side entrance. Matt had set up the training facility years ago in the hills outside Escondido, California, about half an hour north of downtown San Diego. Ramona, Madigan’s assistant, stood just off the mats, observing. Besides the three of them, there were only two others around, everyone else having shipped out on assignments.

  Chloe had been waiting impatiently for hers, but it still hadn’t come. She knew why-her leg. She’d nearly crushed the damn thing in the spring. Sure, she still limped a little when she got tired, but the leg was better. Anything Matt needed, she knew she could do. She’d made Madigan call and tell him that much, but the assignment still hadn’t come.

  “Getting tired?” Madigan asked.

  “Maybe you are. Not me.” Her brown skin glistened with sweat as she faked again. This time, instead of following up with a right, she kicked out with her foot, pulling back at the last second so that her outer arch merely slapped his ribs as opposed to breaking them.

  “Hey, now,” he said. “We’re not working kicks today.”

  “Aren’t you the one who’s always telling me there are no rules?”

  “Yeah, well-”

  From out front came the sound of tires stopping in the gravel parking area.

  “Hold,” Madigan said.

  Chloe took a step back, dropping her hands.

  From their position, they could just see the hood of an unfamiliar dark sedan.

  Madigan tossed the punching mitt to Ramona. “Take over. I’ll be right back.”

  Ramona stepped on the mat and raised the mitt. “Let’s go.”

  Chloe watched Madigan until he disappeared around the front of the gym, then released a rapid-fire combination that pushed Ramona back a few steps.

  Ramona tossed the protective pad to the side. “No mitts on the outside as far as I’m aware. Spar?”

  “Fine by me.”

  Ramona had always been more aggressive than Madigan. Chloe got her best workouts on the days she took over.

  As they squared off, they could hear two car doors opening and closing again. Voices followed.

  Ramona feinted left, then came in low and tried to land a punch to Chloe’s ribs, but Chloe was ready. She twisted out of the way, swinging her leg around as she did, and knocked Ramona in the back.

  “Lucky shot,” Ramona said as she pushed herself off the mat. “My turn now.”

  Unfortunately for Ramona, Chloe was a good student, and remembered everything she was taught. Over the past several months, as they worked on strengthening her leg and improving her overall skills, she’d kept a keen eye on Ramona, learning the assistant’s moves, perfecting them herself, and mentally marking the other woman’s flaws.

  So when Ramona came at her this time, Chloe knew where the hole would be, and perfectly timed a right uppercut that caught Ramona under the chin, knocking her backward in the air and then to the mat.

  “Oh, shit,” Chloe said, dropping down next to Ramona. “You all right?”

  Ramona looked at her for a moment, unfocused, then said, “I think maybe next time we stick to the mitt.”

  From behind them, a voice said, “I guess that answers that question.”

  Chloe looked back and saw that Madigan had returned with two others. When she saw who they were, she smiled broadly. “And what question would that be?”

  Daniel Ash shrugged. “Just if you were in any condition to join us.”

  Ash had come to trust Chloe like he trusted no one else. She had been at his side when he saved his kids, had almost permanently sacrificed her leg in the process. If he had to pick only one person to join him on this mission, she was it.

  Chloe White was not her original name. That had been Lauren Scott. But after she was captured by the Project on a mission for Matt, the Project had done something to her that erased any memory of her past. In essence, Chloe White was born the day she was rescued.

  It hadn’t harmed her intelligence, though, nor robbed her of much of the education she’d picked up before the loss. The personal things were the areas most affected-the people who’d been in her life, her family and friends. They were like strangers to her. As much as she tried, she could remember none of them. Ash couldn’t imagine how that must feel. Somehow, though, she had learned to cope.

  Ash and Pax had left the other members of the team at the airport while they drove out to see her. They’d come around the corner of the building just in time to see Chloe knock the other woman to the mat.

  “Ash and I need to have a conversation with Chloe,” Pax said to Madigan. “Any quiet place we can talk?”

  “You can use the gym. No one’s in there.”

  “Thanks.”

  Since Chloe was the most familiar with the facility, she led the way.

  As soon as they were alone, Ash gave her a hug. “Good to see you.”

  “You, too,” she said.

  Pax was next. “I could get used to a beautiful woman like you hugging me like this.”

  She playfully slapped his shoulder. “Well, don’t. If anyone asks, I’ll be sure to say I’ve never let you within five feet of me.”

  Pax looked around, and motioned to some chairs in the free-weights area. “Why don’t we have a seat?”

  Once they were settled, Chloe eyed them both. “So, join you doing what?”

  Before Ash could say anything, Pax held up a hand. “First, we need you to be straight up with us. How’s the leg?”

  She let out a quick laugh and nodded. “I get it. You need to be sure.”

  “That we do.”

  “I take it this is a mission.”

  “We’ll get to that. Now, your leg?”

  She got up and lifted her left leg so she was only standing on her right. She then began hopping up and down. “It’s got some permanent pins, and there’s a plate right here.” She leaned down and touched a point on the side of her shin. “Sometimes when I get really tired, I limp, but my limp is faster than most people’s walking pace. Along wi
th everything else Madigan’s been putting me through here, I go on a five-mile run every day, and on weekends Ramona and I go on a ten-mile hike.” She sat back down and looked Pax in the eyes. “The leg is what it is, but it’s never going to stop me.”

  “I’m sold,” Ash said.

  Pax shook his head. “All you had to do was say it’s fine.”

  She glanced at Ash then Pax. “It’s fine.”

  “You’re in,” Ash told her. “But only if you want to be.”

  “I want to be.”

  “Let me finish first.”

  “You don’t have to.”

  “Yes. I do.” Ash paused. “Chloe, this isn’t going to be easy. Matt would probably put our chances of success at ten percent.”

  “Five,” Pax corrected.

  “The point being, I’m not sure how many of us are going to make it back, whether we succeed or not.”

  “How many of us are there?” she asked.

  “With you, there’ll be eight.”

  “Not a lot to start with.”

  “No.”

  She shrugged. “I’m still in. Better than hanging out here and waiting for the end of the world.”

  Pax stood up. “Great. Let’s go get you outfitted in cold-weather gear and get under way.”

  “Wait,” she said. “No one said anything about cold weather.”

  17

  BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA

  Hector Ramirez was supposedly out questioning suspects regarding a rash of burglaries at several boutique hotels in the Palermo area. What he was really doing was much more enjoyable.

  There was no one who could get him as excited as Gabriella. At least once a week, he would sneak away for a few hours in the afternoon so they could have some time together.

  Though Hector was married, he wasn’t cheating on his wife. Gaby was his wife. Even after fifteen years together, she still was the most sensuous woman he’d ever met. While most of his colleagues wanted little to do with their spouses, Hector wanted everything to do with his. Happily for both of them, Gaby felt the same way about him.

  They were on the living room couch, Gaby’s body straddling his as she moved in a rhythm all her own. She gave him a devilish smile as she pushed her dark hair behind her ear.

  Oh, God, how had he ever gotten so lucky?

  As he reached up to caress her breast, his phone rang. Annoyed, he looked over at the coffee table where it lay.

  Without slowing at all, Gaby said, “Go ahead.”

  “It can wait.”

  Up and down she went. “I want you to answer.”

  He sneered, knowing the possibility that it might be his boss-the danger of discovery-would turn her on even more.

  Careful not to do anything that would throw off what she was doing, he reached over, nabbed the phone, and looked at the screen.

  “Who is it?” she asked, her voice hushed.

  “I don’t know.” There was no name, and the number was not one he recognized. “I’ll let it go to voice mail.”

  “No, go ahead. See who it is.”

  She was crazy, this wife of his, and he loved that about her.

  He accepted the call and put the phone to his ear. “Ramirez,” he said.

  “Uncle Hector? It’s Patricia.”

  Immediately, he put his hand over the phone and whispered. “Stop. Stop.”

  His wife slowed, but didn’t completely halt.

  “Uncle Hector?” his sister’s daughter said again.

  “Patricia, how are you? Is everything okay?”

  “Patricia?” Gaby whispered, confused. Then her eyes grew wide. “Our niece?”

  Hector nodded. Gaby immediately rolled off her husband and sat down beside him.

  “I’m…um…okay,” Patricia said.

  “You sound like something’s wrong.”

  She hesitated for a moment. “Did you get my message yesterday?”

  He had, but between the hotel robbery investigation and dinner out with Gaby and their friends, he’d forgotten. “I’m sorry. I was very busy and couldn’t call you back.”

  “It’s okay.”

  “So what’s going on?”

  “I, uh, found something, and showed it to Rodrigo. We both thought maybe we should show you, too.”

  “What is it?”

  “I’m not sure. We thought it might have something to do with…drugs, maybe.”

  Hector sat up. “Drugs? What are you talking about?”

  She briefly told him what she had found.

  “Where is this?”

  “In our old neighborhood. You know, the one we lived in when I was a kid.”

  If his niece was right, and the shipping container held drugs, then…good Lord, that could be one of the biggest seizes ever in the city. But if it was drugs, surely no one would have just left it there unwatched. According to Patricia, she’d been there twice already without anyone stopping her. That seemed inconsistent with what he knew about the business.

  But he did have to admit that whatever it was, the situation was odd.

  “Where can I meet you?”

  “I’m using the payphone outside the store outside Cervantes Market. How about there? Remember? It’s the one we used to get fruit at. It’s close to what I want to show you.

  “I know it,” he said. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

  “Okay.”

  He hung up. Gaby said, “What’s wrong?”

  “Patricia and Rodrigo found something strange.”

  “Strange how?”

  As he stood up and started pulling on his clothes, he repeated Patricia’s story.

  “Drugs,” she said when he finished. “That’s not your area. Maybe you should have someone else check it.”

  “I doubt it’s drugs. In fact, it’s probably nothing. Maybe the owner is just using the building for storage.”

  She didn’t look convinced.

  He leaned down and gave her a kiss. “I’ll be all right.”

  “Back this way,” Patricia said.

  They were at the old abandoned house. Hector didn’t remember it from when he visited his sister’s family in the past, but both Patricia and Rodrigo assured him it had been empty even back then.

  His niece and nephew led him into the building, through an open spot near the top of a wall, then a secret hole at the back of a cabinet. They showed him the damaged wall, the container, the roof, and the peculiar box Rodrigo said he thought controlled everything.

  It all confirmed what Hector had thought when Patricia told him about the place over the phone-it was odd. Beyond that, he had no answers.

  “I’ve been thinking,” Rodrigo said. He gestured at Hector and himself. “Between the two of us, I think we might be able to pry open the top a few inches and look inside.”

  Hector aimed the flashlight he’d brought along at the top of the container. The idea of climbing up there did not exactly appeal to him, but he was at least as curious as they were. “Are you sure?”

  “When I was up there, there was one part that felt a little loose. So maybe we can.”

  Hector ran the beam along the side of the container, looking for an easy place to climb.

  “I’ll help you up,” Rodrigo offered. “Then Patricia can help me like she did before.”

  “I want to go, too,” she protested.

  “You have to stay down here.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I’m stronger than you.”

  She frowned. “Not by much.”

  “By enough.”

  Hector nodded. “Let’s do it.”

  Perez arrived in Buenos Aires just after lunch. Since he had no luggage and was using an Argentinean passport on this trip, he made his way quickly through Customs and was soon sitting in the back of the car driven by the local contact, a man by the name of Victor Flores.

  Flores was a real estate agent used by the Project to procure properties in the Argentinean capital. The Project’s cover was that they were representing
a Korean company planning an expansion into the city. It was a variation on a ploy they were using in various countries throughout the world. Flores had received a substantial sum for his services, and was more than happy to drive Perez wherever he wanted to go.

  In a way, it was a two-for-one deal. Perez’s main reason for coming was to check out one of the IDM units and make sure there were no problems. While he was here, he had been instructed to eliminate Flores, too. It wasn’t a necessary hit. In fact, if Perez hadn’t needed to return, the Project would have left Flores alone. He would be dying in the coming weeks anyway, but since the Project’s regional assassin was in town, Flores and his knowledge of the secured properties was a loose end that might as well be cleaned up.

  But first, the IDM.

  Flores, after several failed attempts at small talk, drove Perez in silence, first to a hotel where a small leather bag with a suppressor-equipped pistol was waiting in Perez’s room, then to the neighborhood where the property was located.

  “This is fine,” Perez said.

  “We still have several blocks to go.”

  “I said, this is fine.”

  Flores pulled the car to the curb.

  As Perez opened the door and grabbed his bag, he said, “Wait here.”

  It was a beautiful, warm day. In the Southern Hemisphere, it was the end of spring, and in less than a week it would be summer. Perez had a brief thought about the millions of bodies in the city that would be rotting in the heat come January. He was not blind to the fact that he was working directly on making that happen, but it was for the greater good of humanity-the only way the human race would survive. At least he wouldn’t have to experience the decay firsthand. He’d be on a completely different continent by Implementation Day, safely riding out the unfolding disaster in one of the Project’s compounds.

  He turned down the dead-end street where the building with the troublesome IDM was located. There were several cars parked along the block, but since there was no one on the street at the moment, he headed all the way back and entered the property.

  The IDM had been sealed in the large, front room of the old building. There was, however, a disguised entrance that, with the right code entered into the hidden keypad, allowed Project members inside.