by Bianca D’Arc
“Thanks for telling me,” Hannah replied before the lid closed over her head. She tested it, making sure she could open it from inside was little difficulty, then settled back to wait.
In the dark of the bin, alone with her thoughts, Hannah was glad Rose had given her that last bit of information. She’d hated the idea that Carter hadn’t even tried to console her. Knowing his teammates had kept him away, oddly, meant a lot to her.
After one of the strangest nights of her life, Hannah showed up at Lulu’s doorstep just after dawn the next morning. She had been jostled a little on the trip over from the smaller island but had come out of the experience otherwise unscathed.
Lulu was one of her oldest, and dearest, friends. She, thankfully, didn’t ask too many questions before inviting Hannah inside.
“What’s going on?” Lulu asked as she shut the door behind Hannah.
“Too much to explain easily, and a lot that I just can’t explain,” Hannah replied.
“Come into the kitchen. I’ll make coffee.” Lulu was in her robe, and Hannah knew she’d awakened her friend with the doorbell.
“Thanks.” Hannah followed Lulu into the kitchen and sat down at the table while Lulu bustled around fixing coffee. “You still planning on going to the parade today?” Hannah asked.
“Sure. My nephew is part of the team. I have to be there,” Lulu replied automatically.
“I wish you wouldn’t.”
Lulu turned to stare at her. “Why?” Lulu’s eyes narrowed.
Hannah sighed. “There’s a threat against the parade that I heard about, but they’re not publicizing. Terrorists.”
“You’re serious.” Lulu didn’t react wildly. She had always been a thoughtful soul.
“I’m afraid so.”
“This has something to do with the mall gunman?”
Lulu was too clever by far. “How did you figure that?”
“Oh, come on. I know that mall, and I know everyone who works there. I’ve heard the truth about what happened, not the story that was on the news,” Lulu scoffed. “The security chief asked me, just the other day, how you were doing, since you were right in the middle of it.”
Hannah hadn’t really thought about the fact that other people at the mall had seen the action behind the kiosk during the gunfire. She had thought that nobody had noticed in the frenzy of the moment. Then again, Carter had stayed with her even after the rest of his unit had exited the mall. Apparently, someone had noticed and had mentioned it to Lulu.
“I guess he figured you’d actually told me what happened,” Lulu went on, her tone a bit hurt.
“It wasn’t a big deal,” Hannah said automatically. “I didn’t want to worry you.”
“Worry me! Girl, you’ve been harder to track down lately than you were in the desert. And now, you show up here at the crack of dawn, without your crutches. I thought you were never going to walk right again, but you look good as new.” Her tone turned a bit accusatory. “What the hell is going on with you lately? Was the injury all some big ruse? If so, why? And if not, what in the world happened?”
“That’s a lot of questions,” Hannah said, to buy time. She wasn’t sure how much she could tell Lulu, though she trusted her friend with her life. Remembering that made it easier. “Okay. First, the injury wasn’t a fake. I can’t tell you how, but I found a cure the other day, and I have to keep it under wraps to avoid drawing attention to the person who helped me. Can you promise not to give me away?”
“You know I never would.” Lulu looked affronted.
Hannah nodded. “I appreciate that. Same goes for me, you know.”
“I know. It’s why we’re besties, even if you go off to foreign countries for months on end without a word.” Lulu grinned, and Hannah reciprocated. After a moment, she went on.
“Second, I can’t really tell you where I’ve been lately. That would break a confidence I promised to keep,” Hannah explained. “It’s nothing bad. In fact, it’s related to my job, in a way.”
“Your job as an employee of Uncle Sam?” Lulu asked, arching one eyebrow in surprise. “So, you’re saying—in a roundabout way—that this has something to do with the military.” It wasn’t a question, and Hannah didn’t reply. Lulu went on, surprising Hannah with her knowledge. “The head of security at the mall mentioned the team that had been shot at was military. Special Forces, he said, as if I already knew. He said he wouldn’t have mentioned it otherwise, but since it was my kiosk that was in the middle of everything, he figured I already knew. Of course, I didn’t because my bestie didn’t see fit to tell me.”
“I’ve explained that it’s job-related for me. I could get in serious trouble for even saying as much as I have,” Hannah told her best friend.
Lulu was silent a moment while the coffee maker dripped. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee began to fill the air, making Hannah impatient for the machine to complete its work.
“So…terrorists are targeting our parade, huh?” Lulu seemed accepting of the concept, her expression thoughtful. “You going to stop them?”
“I’m going to try.”
“What about those soldiers? Can they help?”
“Not legally,” Hannah replied, shaking her head. “They passed on the information to the local cops and the feds, but I’m not sure what will happen from there. I needed to come here to warn you.”
“You were with those soldiers yesterday? Is that why I couldn’t find you anywhere?” Lulu accused.
Hannah nodded again. “Part of the group targeting the parade tried to kidnap me the other night when I left the mall. One of the soldiers helped me.” She wouldn’t go into more detail than that. She’d probably already revealed too much as it was.
“Kidnap you?” Lulu’s voice rose. She took a deep breath before going on. “Why was that soldier hanging around? It’s awfully convenient he was there to help.”
“Apparently, they’ve been watching over me since the mall shooting. Because I was in the middle of it, they wanted to make sure there were no repercussions for me after the fact.” It was too much to explain about the enemies of the unit, so she glossed over that bit. “As it turned out, they were right to keep an eye on me.”
“Thank goodness,” Lulu agreed. “So, they’re the ones who fixed your ankle?” Lulu sent her a knowing look.
“I’m not at liberty to say,” Hannah said in a pompous tone that made them both smile. “I’m sorry, Lulu. We really just need to leave that topic alone.”
“All right,” Lulu agreed, giving Hannah a sideways wink. “I’ll be good. For now.”
“Does that include not going to the parade?” Hannah was hopeful but knew Lulu could be really stubborn.
“Sorry, no. But it does include me loaning you a wig and a suitable disguise, since you don’t have your crutches. I assume you don’t want anyone to recognize you without them for now, right?”
Hannah smiled. “Exactly right. I knew I could count on you. Plus, my house is bugged.”
“Your house is what now?” Lulu did a double-take.
“Yeah, I know.” Hannah sighed. “Remember those cameras and motion detectors you put upstairs and in the basement for me? Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who decided to put that kind of thing in my home.” Hannah shook her head. “Which is why I opted to come here, instead of going back to my place.”
“You do seem to have gotten yourself involved in some serious stuff here, Hannah. Are you sure this is safe?” Lulu looked concerned.
“Safer than doing nothing. I mean, I was just minding my own business, and two goons tried to abduct me. I’d rather be doing something about it, rather than waiting for someone else to fix things...or not.” She sighed. “I need to be part of the solution, here.”
Lulu nodded slowly then turned to get mugs out of the cabinet as the coffee maker neared the end of its brewing cycle. “I can understand that. I just hope you’re not in over your head.”
“Me too,” Hannah muttered as Lulu poured coffee for them
both.
*
Carter was incensed at being held back. He’d wanted to go after Hannah the moment she left the mess hall last night, but his clairvoyant friends had basically tied his hands. Jeeves and his lady had been adamant that Hal keep Carter on the island until this morning.
Carter had seethed and made plans all night long. He wasn’t sure where Hannah would be, exactly, but he would start with either Lulu or the parade. Chances are, she’d be with her friend or along the parade route somewhere. Possibly both.
He went armed, but in civilian clothing. Jeans. Tee shirt. Motorcycle boots. He also got his Harley out of the base garage and drove that around Long Island on his quest. It hadn’t been practical to use his bike for his previous excursions involving Hannah, but today, he liked the flexibility of being able to go just about anywhere on the two-wheeled monster.
Another good thing about riding the bike was the helmet that concealed his face. It was the best disguise he’d used yet. At least while he had the helmet on. He’d brought mirrored sunglasses and a ball cap for when he wasn’t riding.
Carter knew Lulu’s address. It was part of the background information they’d collected on Hannah after the mall incident. He drove by Lulu’s first, but when he went up to the door, nobody answered. It wasn’t too long until the parade was supposed to start, so he assumed they were there, somewhere along the parade route. Carter swung back onto this bike and headed for the downtown area parade route.
He had to find Hannah before something bad happened. He just had to. There was no other choice.
*
Hannah and Lulu were walking the entire parade route, looking for anything suspicious. So far, they’d seen nothing, except some overzealous gardeners were digging like crazy in all the giant planters along the street. There were a few police cars who had already closed off the road to vehicular traffic, even though the parade didn’t start for an hour.
“Usually, they just close off the road to cars a little at a time, just before the parade gets to each major road. This is odd,” Lulu said quietly to Hannah, as they pretended to be walkers out for a morning’s exercise.
Lulu had loaned Hannah a black wig and trendy wide headband, plus big sunglasses that obscured most of her face. She also wore one of Lulu’s jogging outfits. It was a bit large on Hannah, but that was helpful in disguising her exact shape, as well. Hannah was confident that nobody would recognize her from a distance and probably not close up, either.
“Remember those things I told you they hid along the roads when I was in the desert?” Hannah was careful not to say anything overt, in case someone could hear her talking.
“The roadside—”
“Yup,” Hannah cut Lulu’s words off. The last thing they needed was for someone to hear the word bomb and jump to the wrong conclusion about them. “That’s what I heard was supposed to happen here. Those guys,” Hannah made a small gesture toward the men digging in the planter they were passing, “are probably looking for that kind of thing.”
“Those are special dogs, aren’t they?” Lulu said quietly. Hannah had also noticed the obvious working dogs who were sniffing the planters before and after the men started digging.
“If they’d found anything, I think there would be a lot of barking, and a whole lot more action. For one thing, they would evacuate civilians from the area and not let people on the street,” Hannah mused as they walked along.
At that moment, a dog started barking. Hannah froze, as did Lulu. She looked back, but it wasn’t one of the trained bomb-sniffing dogs. It was someone’s pet, on a retractable leash, running around like a crazy thing while its owner stopped to chat with a friend. Hannah resumed walking.
“It’s not like we’re on edge or anything,” Lulu quipped, and they both laughed. The small joke eased the tension a bit, and Hannah was thankful Lulu had insisted—against Hannah’s advice—on coming with her this morning.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Carter had to leave his bike at one end of Main Street. The local police had already closed the street to vehicles not involved in the parade. They’d done it early, Carter realized. Much earlier than such things were usually done in a busy suburban area. Traffic was being re-routed around the parade route, but things were already backing up and would only get worse as the day wore on. Carter found a safe spot for his bike and set off on foot, leaving the helmet with the Harley and putting a baseball cap on his head, instead.
There were a lot of people walking along the street at this hour. Some were just shopping in the little stores that lined the road. Some were setting up lawn chairs for the best possible vantage points from which to watch the parade in comfort. A few vendors were selling hot dogs and other food items from carts that had been set up at the edge of the road, giving the place a carnival atmosphere that would only increase once the parade began.
He saw the dogs and the rather obvious police and federal agents looking into every flower pot and crevice. He wasn’t impressed by their actions, but he knew just by looking that the dogs hadn’t found anything yet, so that was something, at least.
But had they pre-empted this attack, only to make the cell try something else, later? They had the bombs. They would try to use them. Fortune had smiled on them this time, because Carter had been able to understand that the men they had in custody were up to something, and Jeff and Rose had foreseen the event. That might not happen again. If the terrorists were scrambling to find a new target for their ready-to-go bombs, there might be no lead time to prevent their attack.
Which was why Carter believed the rest of the cell had to be stopped, here and now. They wouldn’t get a better chance. But the obvious presence of the feds and police searching everything was not helping. Carter walked on, looking for any sign of Hannah. She was his number one priority now, but he couldn’t help but wonder if there was something else he could do to help corral the terrorist cell. If he knew who was in charge, he’d have a word with them about strategy.
“Carter? Is that you?” A woman’s voice came to Carter from one of the storefront doorways. He swiveled his head to find a familiar face there. A woman he hadn’t seen in many years, but knew well. In fact, the last he’d heard, she was a high-ranking FBI agent.
“Lina?” Carter stopped walking and took off his sunglasses.
“It is you.” Lina smiled at him and stepped closer, clearing the doorway. She had a steaming cup of coffee in her hand. “Now, if I was a suspicious sort, I’d wonder why, exactly, you—of all people—were here.”
Carter thought about his response for a split second and decided to go with honesty. “What if I told you, I know what all these good people are doing, and I think they’re going about it all wrong if they really want to end the threat?”
One of her eyebrows rose just a fraction. “Really?”
He nodded. “Really. I didn’t get this intel only for the locals to screw it up. They’ve got lead time—thanks to me—and they’re going to scare the targets away with this obvious display.”
“So, you just came by to see what we were up to and criticize?” Lina had gotten even more cagey in the years since they’d last met, if that were possible.
“No, ma’am. I had my orders, and you’ll notice I’m here as a civilian. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for another civilian and her friend, who I am trying to extricate from this location with the least amount of fuss.” He let a little of his frustration show and saw Lina’s eyes widen in surprise.
“A woman? You’re here chasing down a woman?” Lina sounded shocked.
She might well be. Carter had known all those years ago in training that Lina was attracted to him, but he’d been intent on his work and had never even asked her out. Their potential relationship had turned into a respectful friendship, and that was it. She’d probably thought he was gay or something, because Lina was a knock-out, and she had been choosey, as well. All the guys had envied him when she’d expressed an interest, and they’d teased him about his decision
to be a monk, as they had put it.
They’d met at a special class for sharpshooters given at Quantico. It wasn’t usual for there to be such a mix of students, but the instructor had been a bit of a celebrity in shooting circles, and people had come from all backgrounds of law enforcement to study with the master for a few weeks. Only the best of the best had been granted admission to the class, and Lina was the equal or better of any man in the room. Put a weapon in her hand, and she could hit just about anything from just about any distance. She had been a rare talent, and one of the star pupils of the already elite class.
Carter just nodded in reply to Lina’s query. She studied him for a moment, her expression searching.
“You must really have it bad to come down here when you know you weren’t invited,” she mused. “Still, it’s good to know the intel was solid. So far, we haven’t found anything.”
“Because you started too early.” He gave her a piercing look. “Are you in charge of this show?”
Lina nodded. This just got better and better. He’d fantasized about giving the leader of this op a piece of his mind. Here was his chance.
“If you’ll take my advice, you’ll pull back all your troops and see if you can salvage anything out of this op.” He looked around, his gaze sweeping the street. “The packages weren’t supposed to be delivered until the last minute.”
“How do you know? It takes time to plant IEDs.”
“Lina, I was the interpreter. I heard it myself,” he admitted while she favored him with a narrow-eyed look.
Finally, she sighed. “Well, we’ve searched up and down and haven’t found a thing, so your suggestion is a good one.” She pulled a radio out of her pocket and began issuing orders. Carter started to walk away, but she stopped him by calling his name. “Carter, where will you be?”
“Still have to find my quarry,” he reminded her. “I’m not officially here. Remember?”
Lina shook her head and smiled. “All right. Thanks for the tip. Anything else you can share before you go?”