Above Reproach

by Lynn Ames

  “Of course.”

  They stood for a moment in companionable silence.

  “Is everyone else asleep?” Vaughn asked.

  “I’m not,” Peter said, as he joined them. “You okay?” he asked Vaughn.

  “Why the hell is everyone so concerned about me?” Vaughn snapped. “I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?” She saw the look that passed between Justine and Peter. Was she really that transparent? She sighed in exasperation. “Peter, where are we with our nuclear scientist? Is he going to be here in the morning?”

  “He’s flying in from Istanbul. Ahmed is going to pick him up at the airport. He should be able to join us by the afternoon.”

  Vaughn spared Peter a look. “Do we really trust Ahmed after what happened?”

  “Do we really have a choice? We can’t spare one of us and we still need to keep a low profile. Even without the official attention, we all know there’s a private goon squad out there gunning for us—and especially for Sedona. I don’t know about you”—Peter’s voice cracked and he took a second to compose himself—“but I can’t stand the thought of them taking her out. Watching her fall like that—”

  “Don’t,” Vaughn said. She held out a shaky hand. “Just don’t.” She felt the tears swim in her eyes and she willed them away. “Fine. The scientist will get here when he does.” She pivoted and walked into the house. Over her shoulder she said, “It’s one of your turns to stand watch.”

  She was tired, and she didn’t want to think, she didn’t want to feel. She just wanted… She just wanted to be with Sedona, to hold her, to feel her breath against her cheek. She was tired of fighting it and more tired of trying to pretend she wasn’t completely smitten, especially since nobody seemed to be fooled, including her.

  She moved quietly through the house to the private room where Sedona was convalescing. She stripped down to her t-shirt and panties. For a long moment, she stood there, watching Sedona sleep. She was so beautiful and serene. Suddenly, in her mind’s eye, Vaughn saw an image of the bullet slamming into Sedona, her body jerking backward, and the look of surprise on her face.

  Vaughn let out an involuntary cry and Sedona shifted restlessly. She moaned in pain from the movement. Vaughn immediately knelt down beside her.

  Although Sedona didn’t appear to have awakened, her calm expression morphed into a mask of discomfort. Vaughn hesitated only for a second before lying down next to her and gently pulling Sedona into her arms. “You’re okay, sweetheart. I’ve got you.”

  As their heartbeats settled into one rhythm, Vaughn took a deep breath. It should have felt wrong, she reasoned. She should be feeling guilty. After all, it was only six months ago that Sage walked out. Surely she shouldn’t be over Sage already.

  But it didn’t feel wrong lying here with Sedona. In fact, it felt so very, very right. It wasn’t that Vaughn hadn’t cared for Sage, she did. In her own way, she loved her. But it never felt like this. This was… Vaughn didn’t know what it was. But it was by far the most she’d felt for anyone since Sara.

  The familiar stab of pain pierced Vaughn’s heart. Automatically, she put her free hand to the scar she bore—a constant reminder of the explosion that ripped her world apart.

  Unconsciously, Sedona snuggled against Vaughn. Her hand drifted to Vaughn’s scar and Vaughn opened her eyes. Sedona’s breathing remained slow and steady. How could she know, even in her sleep, what it was Vaughn needed? The comforting touch soothed Vaughn, and within seconds, she was asleep.

  She could feel the panic rising in Vaughn’s chest. A bright flash turned night into day and the physical injury made her writhe in agony. But it was Vaughn’s emotional devastation that ripped at Sedona’s heart.

  Sedona gasped and levitated off the mattress and a jolt of real pain bloomed in her chest as she came awake. She swallowed a groan. Sweat stained her t-shirt.

  She turned her head and a thousand gongs banged against her skull. When her vision cleared, there was Vaughn, peacefully asleep, her arm wrapped tightly around Sedona’s shoulder.

  Sedona’s eyes tracked to where her fingers rested lightly on Vaughn’s scar. She remembered what Justine told her on the plane about Sara.

  Oh, Vaughn. I’m so sorry! Angels? Why did you show me that? Why did you have me relive Vaughn’s experience? I know you never do anything without a purpose, so I ask you to help me see with crystal clarity the reasons you shared that memory with me. This I ask you with your blessings. Amen.

  As exhaustion claimed her one more time, Sedona mouthed the words, “Archangel Raphael, please use your green healing light to repair any physical damage from Vaughn’s injury. Archangel Azrael, please, heal Vaughn’s heart, for she carries within her so much pain, so much suffering.”

  Sedona caressed the scar one more time before moving her hand to Vaughn’s abdomen. Her eyes drooped and she let herself drift off to sleep once again.

  When next she woke, Vaughn was dressed, sitting by the side of the mattress, and staring at her. “What? Am I drooling or something?”

  Vaughn laughed. “No. I didn’t want to wake you, but we really should get going, if you’re up to it.”

  Sedona blinked. Her head still throbbed. Carefully, slowly, she lifted it off the pillow. As she did so, Vaughn slipped in behind her and cradled her.

  “How do you feel?”

  Sedona closed her eyes. Very safe and cared for. She opened her eyes again. Out loud, she said, “It’s not ideal, but a couple of ibuprofen ought to make it doable.”

  “What about your chest?”

  Sedona took a deep breath. “It feels like Thor took his hammer to my chest, but I can breathe. Let me stand up and I’ll have a better idea how useful I’m going to be.”

  Vaughn dropped her arms to her side and scrambled out of the way. Sedona felt an instant of hurt radiate from Vaughn’s heart. She captured Vaughn’s hand and squeezed. “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “For being my protector. For taking such wonderful care of me. For risking your life for me.” Sedona moved in and kissed Vaughn on the lips. It wasn’t a kiss of welcome but a gesture of gratitude. When she pulled back, Vaughn’s eyes still were closed and Sedona’s throat tightened. Was Vaughn falling in love with her? Unable to process the thought, Sedona set it aside. They had a job to do.

  Slowly, carefully, she stood. “Standing still works.” She hoped her smile would be contagious.

  “That’s something.”

  Justine knocked on the wall just outside the room. “How’s the patient?”

  Sedona noted that Vaughn took two steps back.

  “We’re evaluating that right now,” Sedona said.

  “Would you care for a professional opinion?”

  “Of course.”

  “You don’t need me for this. I’ll go and see how everyone else is doing.” Vaughn walked out without a backward glance.

  Sedona wanted to go after her—to say… What, exactly?

  “Don’t worry,” Justine said. She nodded in the direction Vaughn went. “She hasn’t quite figured it all out yet, but she will.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Justine stilled her hands where they were palpating Sedona’s bruised left chest. Their faces were less than a foot apart. “You’re a very perceptive woman. Please don’t tell me you haven’t figured out that Vaughn is falling in love with you.”

  Sedona blinked. She wasn’t expecting Justine to parrot back her own thoughts so plainly.

  “Sorry. That was out of line. None of my business.” Justine resumed her exam. “Does this hurt?”

  Sedona flinched.

  “I’ll take that for a yes.” Justine moved her hands slightly to the right. “How about this?”

  Sedona recoiled.

  “I’ll take that for a big yes.”

  Sedona noted Justine’s frown. When she looked down, she realized that Justine was testing the area directly over her heart. Her stomach flipped. “He was a pretty good shot, huh?”

 
Justine’s eyes misted. “You could say that.”

  “What happened to him?”

  “Peter took him out.”

  “Oh.”

  “He was using Ahmed and Umar, threatening them with a gun if they didn’t identify you for him.”

  “How did he know they knew me?”

  “Apparently, your friends were celebrating your return in the café before we arrived and this guy overheard them.”

  Sedona closed her eyes. “Sedona’s not exactly a common name. I should have thought to tell them not to say anything out loud about what they were doing. That was my fault.”

  “Nobody blames you.”

  “Where are they? Ahmed and Umar?”

  “They’re outside waiting for us.”

  “I should talk to them.”

  “You should know that Vaughn scared the daylights out of them. She wasn’t as sure as Peter was that they were innocent dupes.”

  “She has a suspicious mind.”

  “With good reason.”

  “Of course.” Sedona buttoned her Army uniform shirt. “But in this case, I know these men. They are good friends. They might be naïve, but they would never intentionally allow harm to come to me.”

  “So they said.”

  Sedona sighed. “I better go see them. They’re probably completely freaked out.”

  “That would be an understatement. I think Vaughn’s out there threatening their lives if they don’t come through this afternoon.”

  “What happens this afternoon?”

  “We need them to go to the airport in Baghdad and pick up the raw uranium expert we’re flying in from Turkey.”

  “In that case, I better hustle.”

  “The president wouldn’t see me.” Daniel Hart sat at a coffee shop in Alexandria, Virginia with Stanley Davidson. The place was crawling with college kids.

  “That’s not Mr. Grayson’s problem.”

  “I know that.” Hart shredded a napkin. “I can’t get anyone to tell me anything.”

  “I strongly urge you to figure out a way to discover where they’re holding the prisoner. Mr. Grayson has made it abundantly clear that there are to be no loose ends.”

  “I can’t have her killed if I don’t know where she is!” Hart whispered harshly. “The closest I can come right now is to assume they took her to a military base in Kuwait. That would be standard protocol.”

  “So why aren’t you directing a search of such facilities?” Davidson asked.

  “It isn’t that simple.” Hart picked up another napkin to shred. “Do you have any idea how many possibilities there are?”

  “No, but I suggest you figure it out. Mr. Grayson is quite adamant on this point.”

  “No kidding. You think I want her blabbing? I’m in a more compromising situation than anybody on this one.”

  “Then I suggest you leave that poor napkin alone and get to work.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  The perimeter around the Tuwaitha complex was heavily guarded. Vaughn counted at least two dozen patrols of private paramilitary units encircling the main facility. She imagined there were at least an equal number of squads inside the gates. Peter was lying next to her behind the berm they’d chosen as their reconnaissance point. A short distance away, the rest of the team was in the SUV they’d borrowed from Umar.

  “Lots of attention for a place that’s abandoned, don’t you think?” Vaughn asked.

  “I do. Interesting firepower too.” He was looking through a long-range scope. “MP-5 submachine guns.”

  “Yeah, I saw that. You’d think they were expecting trouble.” Vaughn inserted her ear bud. “Sabastien? Can you hear me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Everything okay back there?”

  “We found a place off the road I think will work. It is close enough to pick up the smallest drone’s signal, about five hundred meters.”

  “Will you be able to get a satellite uplink from there?”

  “Yes.”

  “Roger. Lorraine?”

  “Here.”

  “Are you comfortable with the sight lines?”

  “It’s not ideal, but we can make it work.”

  “Okay. I think we’ve seen what we need to see for now. Let’s get going. See you in a minute.”

  When they were all in the vehicle and on their way back to Ahmed’s home, Vaughn addressed the group. “Now that we’ve had a look around, we know what we’re up against, at least on the outside. Tonight we’ll come back and launch the larger drone so we can have a look inside the complex.”

  “I have reviewed all of the laptop’s programming,” Sabastien said. “I ran a small test while you and Peter were out there. I bet you did not even know I had you under drone surveillance.”

  “I hope you got my good side,” Peter said.

  “The images were very clear and crisp and the recording technology worked just fine.”

  “Good.” Vaughn turned to Sedona, who was slumped in the back, just in case they passed any traffic. “You okay back there?”

  “Fine, thanks.”

  “How are you feeling?”

  Sedona rolled her eyes. “You don’t need to worry about me. I’m ready.”

  “Right.” Vaughn cleared her throat. “You’re going to be watching over Sabastien’s shoulder and mine too, looking at the video feed live so that you can direct me as I fly the drone through the place. You’re the only one who knows the layout. We’ve got infrared, heat-seeking capability, so we should be able to get a good idea how many people they’ve got working in there, plus, we can run facial recognition on anybody we find interesting. While I’m directing the drone on one computer, Sabastien will be editing the video on the second laptop in live time and taking care of the facial recognition searches.”

  “Okay.”

  “Peter and Lorraine, you’ve got lookout duty outside the vehicle.”

  “What about me?” Justine asked.

  “You’re going to babysit our nuclear scientist. We don’t know anything about this guy, except that he came recommended by a third party. I’m not crazy about bringing anybody else into the op, but we need to know exactly what it is they’re doing inside. Assuming none of us is an expert in yellowcake or nuclear weapons, we have no choice but to trust an outsider.”

  “What is it you want from him? Surely you’re not sending him in there.”

  “No. We’re going to use the smaller drone to get shots of the manufacturing operation, since it seems likely they’re building some kind of bomb. We need this guy to tell us what we’re looking at and what it’s designed to do.”

  “Does he know where we’re taking him?” Justine asked.

  “He was told only that our destination was a nuclear facility outside Baghdad,” Peter said. “My sources say he’s an expert in the field in this part of the world.”

  “I wonder why he’s not working on this project, then?” Sedona asked.

  “I don’t know. I guess we’ll have to ask him that. Here he is now.”

  They pulled up to Ahmed’s home and piled out. Ahmed and Umar were sitting outside with the latest arrival. He was a slight man, with stooped shoulders and large glasses.

  “Welcome,” Vaughn said. “Thanks for being here. You speak English?”

  “Impeccably, I should hope,” the scientist replied. “I studied at Oxford and Harvard.”

  “I’m Vaughn. This woman,” Vaughn pulled Justine forward, “is Justine. Anything you need, she’ll be your go-to person.”

  “Very well.”

  “We should all get some rest,” Vaughn said. “It’s going to be a long night.”

  “Are you guys okay?” Sedona asked Ahmed and Umar in Arabic. The three of them sat on the floor in the front room of Ahmed’s home.

  Ahmed spoke first. “We are so, so sorry for what happened to you yesterday, my friend. We would never harm you.”

  “I know that,” Sedona said. “You didn’t know you weren’t supposed to talk about my arri
val. I should have told you.”

  “Why do so many people want to hurt you?” Umar asked softly. “I do not understand.”

  Sedona gave him a smile filled with irony. “I don’t really understand myself. I wish I did.”

  “We will protect you.” Ahmed sat up straighter.

  Sedona shook her head sadly. “No, my friends. I can take care of myself. I’m sorry to have brought you into this.” She looked at Umar. “I’m sorry for what happened at the café and afterwards. You must have been so scared.”

  Umar ducked his head. Sedona could see that his eyelashes shimmered with tears. “I failed you.”

  “No. No, you didn’t. How could you have known?”

  “Your friend, she hates us.”

  “Vaughn?” Sedona said. “No, she was just worried about me. She’s not that bad, really.”

  Ahmed smiled wisely. “No, I think she hates us. Like so many Americans, she thinks we are all terrorists and anti-American.”

  “I don’t believe that,” Sedona said. She had seen into Vaughn’s heart—there was no prejudice there. “It’s her job to be suspicious of everyone.”

  “She does it well,” Umar said, rubbing the sore place on his throat.

  “Yes,” Sedona admitted, “she does.”

  Tuwaitha was buzzing with activity, despite the fact that it was nighttime. Every building was lit up. So far, they’d seen evidence of nearly one hundred people moving about.

  “There’s a passageway between those two buildings,” Sedona told Vaughn as she watched the drone’s progress through the shadows. “See that little crease there?” She pointed on the screen.

  “Where does it lead?”

  “To the manufacturing plant or at least to what used to be the manufacturing plant.”

  Vaughn manipulated the joystick to the right, sliding into the space Sedona indicated. “Which of these buildings gets us to pay dirt?”

  “They both held pieces of the operation, but I’d say you’re most interested in the building on the left.” Sedona massaged her temples. Her head pounded so hard she wondered how she could hear her own thoughts. More importantly, she feared that she would not hear the angels talking to her if she needed them.