Jungle Inferno

by Desiree Holt

  “Move it.” His voice was clipped. “Someone will be looking for him any minute now.”

  “You don’t have to tell us,” Mike answered.

  In less than a minute they had Joey inside and strapped down. Troy was already in place connecting Joey to the equipment, Rick on the opposite side of him.

  Mike climbed into the passenger seat and slammed the door. “Go. We need to get the hell out of here.”

  Dan drove out of the parking lot and onto the street, eyes moving back and forth to the rearview mirror, ready to spot any trouble.

  Nothing.

  They merged into traffic, breathing a collective sigh of relief.

  * * * * *

  The ambulance rolled up to the bay on the heels of the van, although neither man exiting the vehicle gave it a second glance. Mr. Green and Mr. Brown, intent on their mission, paid little attention to what was happening around them. They arrived at the nurses’ station on Joey’s floor with two men in the uniforms of orderlies and their own gurney. At the desk they presented their papers and announced they were moving the patient, Joey Latrobe, to a more secure medical facility.

  While the woman behind the desk was examining their papers, a nurse flew out of Joey’s room.

  “He’s gone.” She looked rapidly around her. “Who saw them take him?”

  “Who’s gone?” Mr. Green asked.

  “The…special…patient. Latrobe.”

  Mr. Green and Mr. Brown looked at each other, each wearing an expression of dread.

  “What do you mean he’s gone?” Mr. Brown asked. “How the hell could he be gone? Don’t you people watch your patients?”

  The nurse gripped her hands together to still their trembling. “I was just in his room. Two men came with orders to take him for an MRI. I had an emergency situation and I told them to wait until I came back. But they’re gone and so is the patient.”

  Mr. Brown turned to the woman behind the desk. “Maybe there’s a simple explanation, although I can’t imagine why a test would be ordered today. But call down and see if he’s in fact having an MRI. Do it. Right now.”

  The woman paled at the menace in the voice and her hands shook as she dialed the extension. She was even more nervous when she hung up the phone.

  “They don’t know anything about it.”

  “Where’s the doctor?” Mr. Green demanded, looking around as if he expected the man to materialize before him.

  The nurse was trembling visibly as she punched numbers on the phone, calling one extension after another. “No one’s seen him.” Her voice was unsteady.

  “God damn it.” Mr. Green slammed his fist on the raised counter. “How the fuck did this happen?”

  “Sir!” The nurse, in spite of her distress, looked at him with shocked eyes.

  “Cool it,” Mr. Brown warned in a low voice. “Now is not the time to lose it.”

  Mr. Green dragged in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “All right. Where’s the nurse who was taking care of him?”

  “Here.” Joey’s nurse stepped forward. “Anna Rice. Latrobe is…was…my patient.”

  “Then maybe you can tell me how he got away from you.”

  Mr. Green’s face set in grim lines as he listened to her recitation of what happened in the hospital room. Mr. Brown gestured to the two orderlies behind him to move back with the gurney, then pulled his companion to the side.

  “We’ve got a big problem here and I’m not looking forward to calling this in.”

  “It’s the damn brother. You can bet on it. Him and his renegade friends.”

  “We’d better get back downstairs and call this in, then figure out how we’re going to find Latrobe. Hang on. We’re about to get our asses handed to us.” He turned back to the nurse. “You’d better figure out how they got in and out under everyone’s nose. Someone’s going to pay for this.”

  The two men stomped to the elevator, the orderlies dragging behind them.

  * * * * *

  “You just up and flew to DC?” Tia’s voice was unbelieving and tinged with hurt. “Without even calling me?”

  “No biggie. I wanted to talk to Senator Winslow and I just decided to go ahead and do it. I’ll only be here until tomorrow.”

  “Faith, this is so not like you.” Silence. “You want to tell me what’s really going on here? This isn’t just about a book, is it?”

  Faith nibbled on her lower lip, wondering exactly how much she could tell Tia. The woman could keep a secret, that was for sure. But this involved someone’s life. Mark’s. In any event, it wasn’t a subject to discuss on the telephone.

  “It’s…a bigger project than I expected.” And what a lame excuse that is. “I’ll call you in the morning and give you my fight arrival time. How about if you meet me, we’ll pick up Chinese, go back to my house and I’ll tell you what I can.”

  “I’m getting funny vibes about this, Faith. Are you in some kind of trouble?”

  “No, not at all.” At least, not yet. “Meanwhile, everything in the media seems to point to trouble spots in Peru more than anywhere else in South America. Can you dig up more stuff about terrorist groups there and anything that links Special Ops missions to them, anything that might have made it into the media or onto the internet blogs? Whatever you can find.”

  She could hear Tia’s sigh over the long-distance connection. “All right. I’ll get to work on it. Call me in the morning.” She paused. “And be careful, okay?”

  “I will.”

  She disconnected and immediately dialed Andy Moreil’s number.

  “Are you haunting me from around the country?” he asked.

  “Don’t be such a wiseass. I need another favor.”

  “Jesus, Faith. Can’t I have a day to breathe?” But his voice was warm rather than irritated. Andy had been a good friend for a long time. Teasing her was one of his great pleasures.

  “Okay, if you do this one thing for me I won’t bother you for the rest of the week.”

  He laughed. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’ve heard that before. Okay, what is it?”

  “Have you had a chance to check on Phoenix yet?”

  “You do realize I actually do a job I get paid for.” But she heard the teasing note in his voice and could already hear the computer keys clicking. “Where’s it located?”

  “Somewhere on the East Coast.” She paused, then said deliberately, “A really good computer person could find it.”

  “A really good computer person? What am I, chopped liver? My searches are beyond good.”

  “Sorry. My sense of humor is a little out of whack right now. Dig as deep as you can and call me back on my cell the minute you have anything.”

  “Later.” And he was gone.

  She tried Vivi next but got the answering machine and decided to try again later. She ordered a light lunch from room service and tried to eat something but her stomach was too knotted to accept food. The television provided no distraction and she couldn’t concentrate enough to work at her laptop. She was about to take two aspirin and try to lie down when her cell rang.

  “Holy shit, Faith.” Andy’s voice had a note of awe.

  “What?” Her hand tightened on her phone. “What did you find?”

  “Do you actually know these guys?” He sounded like a small child asking about The Lone Ranger.

  “Andy, cut the garbage. What did you find?”

  “Not as much as you’d like but as much as I’m going to.” She heard the clicking of the keys. “I’d rather hack the government any day than these guys.”

  Who in God’s name were they and what did they have to do with Mark? “Just tell me what you’ve got.”

  “Basically they’re all former military—SEALs, Rangers, like that. Now they’re mercs. Mercenaries, contracting to the highest bidder. Including good old Uncle Sam.”

  “I don’t understand.” She sat down on the bed, trembling slightly. Did they have something to do with Mark’s capture? No, that was impossible. One of them was
the brother of a young man in his unit. “Why can’t you find out more about them?”

  “Because they have so many firewalls I’d need a sledgehammer to break through. And they have every warning in the world on their site. Unless you have all the secret passwords all you get is a home page with a brief bio of the four partners and a place to leave a message. You now that old saying, if I tell you I’ll have to kill you? I think these guys are in that business.”

  Faith’s mouth went dry. What did it all mean? She glanced at her watch and realized it was later than she thought. “Listen Andy, thanks for doing this. I won’t bother you again for a while. I promise.”

  “I’ll hold you to that.” He paused for a moment. “Faith, whatever you’re into, please be careful.”

  “I will.”

  She clicked off and stared at the wall. Nothing was making sense right now. Well, it was time to get ready to see Trey Winslow. Maybe he’d have some answers for her. Or at least get her in to see this Major Gregorio.

  * * * * *

  Ed Romeo was pacing in the warehouse when Dan drove through the gate at Discount Records and pressed the button to open the big bay door.

  “Everything okay?” His voice was tense.

  “As good as can be expected,” his brother told him. “Let’s get loaded up.”

  The sleek Bell 429 stood ready, its doors open, rotors waiting for that first crank of the turbine. They’d chosen this one over others because its cabin could be reconfigured in many ways—for seats, for litters, for equipment. An all-purpose, all-mission rigged bird. And it flew faster and farther than any other helicopter they’d looked at. Its graceful black presence dominated the hangar area with an air so lethal it was almost as if the inanimate object knew it was entering a high stakes game.

  Troy climbed in the open door to the copter, checked the setup he’d put in place that morning and nodded to Mike and Rick. With infinite care they lifted Joey from the van to the helicopter, taking care not to dislodge any vital equipment. Rick let out a long sigh when his brother was finally in place and securely strapped in, wiping the sweat from his face with his forearm.

  “Preflight’s done,” Ed told them. “Let’s get it in gear.”

  In seconds everyone was in the helo, strapped in place, headphones on. Ed cranked the rotors, abnormally loud in the cavernous building, then side-slipped out through the open door. Dan opened his door slightly, pressed the button to close the big metal door and they were rolling. The helicopter was registered under a different company name, so even if someone tracked down Rick, there was no way to make a connection.

  In seconds they were airborne, heading out over the Potomac. After ten minutes everyone relaxed a tiny bit, happy to have the worst of it over with.

  “Don’t.”

  The hoarse cry startled all of them. Dan turned in his seat. “What the…”

  “It’s Joey,” Rick told him. “Jesus, of all times for him to wake up.”

  “He’s not really awake,” Troy corrected. “But he will be before long.”

  “Don’t.” The same tortured cry again. “Get away…Mark…” He started to thrash against his restraints.

  “Joey.” Rick bent over him. “It’s okay, kid. Take it easy.” He looked at Troy. “Can’t you give him something? I’m afraid he’ll pull out all these needles and stuff.”

  “Right with you, buddy.” He was already filling a syringe, injecting the solution into Joey’s arm. “Rick, hold him down until this stuff takes effect. We just need to keep him calm until we reach the cabin.”

  It seemed like an hour but in actuality less than five minutes passed before Joey relaxed back into unconsciousness.

  “Well,” Dan said, “maybe he’s got some information after all. That makes it even more important that no one knows where he is.”

  No one in the copter disagreed.

  * * * * *

  “It’s always a pleasure to see you, Faith. Come in, come in.”

  Trey Winslow was his usual political affable self. Faith couldn’t remember ever seeing him without the practiced smile on his face and the carefully cultivated tone of welcome in his voice.

  When her first book startled everyone by rocketing to the top of every best-seller list, she’d become the darling of her publisher. So when she wanted firsthand information about politics for book number two, he’d arranged a meeting with his good friend, the junior senator from Rhode Island. Although at fifty-one, junior was somewhat of an erroneous description.

  Now, six years later, aware of his new appointment to the Senate Armed Services Committee, she was about to presume on his good graces again.

  This was the first time she’d been to his home. Usually they met at his office and once for drinks at The Willard when he was between meetings. The house was a graceful two-story brick with slender white columns soaring to the roof and a wide open verandah across the front.

  The foyer was a miniature rotunda, with a slate floor and coffered ceiling. An elegant spiral stairway curved up to the second floor and wide doors opened to a dining room on the right and a living room on the left. The whole thing had the feeling of a movie set specifically ordered up. Cue one mansion for a well-heeled, well-connected politician. Dust with an air of old line respectability.

  Tucked behind the stairway was a very masculine wood-paneled study to which he led her. Barbara Winslow was just setting a coffee tray on a low table. She held out her hand to Faith.

  “I’ve wanted to meet you ever since Trey first mentioned you. I find your books absolutely fascinating and so true to life.”

  “Thank you.” Faith shook her hand. “I have to thank your husband for that. He’s been a wellspring of information.”

  “I’ll leave you two to get on with it. Please come visit us again.” She smiled and closed the door behind her.

  Trey gestured for Faith to join him on the wide leather couch and poured coffee for them. “Black, right?” He handed her a cup.

  “Yes. How nice of you to remember.”

  They got the obligatory “how are you” chatter out of the way, both of them aware she’d come there with an agenda.

  “You’ve had really great success with your books, Faith.” The grin appeared again. “You must feel very good about it.”

  She nodded. “I do. And thank you again for all the help you’ve given me.”

  “No problem. I gather there’s another one on the horizon and that’s why you’re here.”

  “Yes, it is.” She set her cup down. “I’m actually here to ask you to use your influence a little, if you wouldn’t mind.”

  “Oh?” One eyebrow lifted.

  “I’m deviating a little this time, taking a lot of the action out of Washington.” She composed her words carefully. “I have a very good friend who’s in the Delta Force, Mark Halloran and I thought in this book I’d like to make that the central theme. You know, kind of dedicate it to him.”

  Trey cocked his head. “Delta Force? Isn’t that quite a departure for you?”

  “Yes, it is.” She set her cup precisely in its saucer. “But as I say, Mark’s a good friend of mine and I’d like to know more about Special Ops. I guess I’d like to do this as a tribute to him and the men in his unit. There’s so much going on in the world now, so much danger these men are sent into. I thought it would be a good idea to give people a glimpse into what they actually do. Maybe even find out what their current mission is, if possible.”

  Trey was silent for a moment but a tic had developed in his left eye. He rubbed at it absently. “Getting information isn’t going to be easy, even for me. Most of those missions are highly classified.”

  “I know but I’m hoping you can at least open some doors for me.” She gave him her best smile, surprised by the sudden tension in his body. “Especially with your new appointment.”

  He laughed, his polished political chuckle. “I’m still the new kid on the block there but why don’t you tell me what it is you want?”

 
Casual, Faith. Don’t make it seem unduly important.

  “I’d really like to interview Mark’s commanding officer, a Major John Gregorio, at Fort Bragg. But I can’t even seem to get him to return my phone calls.”

  “I’m not surprised.” Trey frowned. “This is a busy time for Special Ops. And exposure of any kind isn’t something they encourage.”

  “I know. But you’ve had experience with me. You know I’m discreet and will accept whatever he chooses to give me.” She wet her lips. “I think there’s a good story to be told here.” Careful, Faith. “They must be aware that every mission has a great chance of failure. I’d like to show people how carefully planned everything is, the risks analyzed and so forth.”

  He was silent for so long she wasn’t sure he’d even answer her. Finally he leaned forward, refilled his cup and stirred sweetener into it. “All right,” he said at last. “How long will you be in town?”

  “Only until tomorrow. But it doesn’t matter. You can always reach me on my cell. And wherever I am, if he’ll see me I’ll hop on the next plane.”

  “Fine.” He rose, indicating the meeting was over. “Let me see what I can do. It will probably be tomorrow before I can get back to you.”

  “Whenever,” she told him and held out her hand. “Thanks once again for coming to my rescue.”

  “Any time. I’ll have the driver take you back to your hotel.”

  As she climbed into the limo, Faith had the distinct feeling that Trey Winslow had been very anxious to hustle her out the door.

  * * * * *

  Trey Winslow watched the limo move slowly down his driveway, eyes narrowed, muscle jumping in one cheek. Was Faith’s visit mere coincidence, or did she have a deeper motive?

  No, impossible. Faith was too open, too easily read. Besides, how could she have gotten involved in any of this? Still, it didn’t hurt to be on the alert. He’d get her entry to Fort Bragg. No harm there. Gregorio wouldn’t give her anything. He knew better. But it wouldn’t hurt to give everyone else a heads-up.