[The Exit 01.0] Next Exit, Three Miles

by CW Browning

  The Engineer smiled slowly. So that was the plan. The other four men would take the fall while Johann got away across the river. He had probably planned for he and his brother to escape back across the river during all the chaos, and the others would be left to make their own way out of the area. Given the extremeness of the target, the likelihood of them doing so without being seen or caught was extremely remote. Johann and his brother would disappear, and the others would take the fall as the terrorists who attacked Americans on American soil.

  Only now it was just Johann.

  Dimitrius had to admit that it was perfect. Once on this side of the river, Johann would still have traffic to deal with, but it would be far less than on the other side, closer to the island. Not only would it be less chaotic, but he could be completely out of the area before any sort of organized response could be mounted.

  Or he could be if he was alive.

  Dimitrius lifted the binoculars again and studied the old barn to the back of the property. Once again, he was distracted by movement on the access road. He swung the binoculars over and watched as a black pickup entered the access road, slowed a few feet in, and then pulled into the trees. He frowned and watched as the pickup didn't move. After a moment, he caught sight of something moving near the parked truck. Adjusting his binoculars, Dimitrius inhaled sharply in surprise as he recognized the two Feds moving through the trees toward the house. Now how on earth had they found Johann? The woman stumbled on some undergrowth and her partner grabbed her arm to steady her before they continued on. Dimitrius glanced back at the house, and then back to the Feds. Damn! If they scared Johann off now, all his careful planning would be wasted!

  Uncontrollable anger washed through the Engineer suddenly, like a red hot wave.

  No! No! No!

  First, the fiasco down in Washington with the DHS agent, and now this! His game couldn't take any more adjusting. If Johann even suspected that there were Feds in the woods outside, he would be gone in a flash. Dimitrius would not only lose his chance to finish what Viper couldn't do two years ago, but he would lose his target.

  For the first time in his career, he would fail.

  Dimitrius dropped the binoculars and picked up the rifle. He adjusted the scope until the woman was solidly in his sights. She was moving slowly, trying to stay silent. Her black jacket was open in front, displaying a white button-down tailored shirt tucked into black pants. Dimitrius centered the cross hairs on her chest and slid his finger over the trigger. He took a long, slow deep breath and held the rifle steady on her.

  She paused, motioning to her partner to stop, and lifted a pair of binoculars that she held in her hand. Dimitrius paused as well, lifting his head from the rifle sight and glancing at the house. His finger moved off the trigger. Johann was still there. If he shot the Fed, Johann would undoubtedly run. He pressed his lips together in indecision for a moment, returning his eye to the scope and watching her through the sight. She was watching the house, standing perfectly still. He couldn't have planned a better shot if he tried.

  Dimitrius hovered his finger near the trigger, debating. After a long moment, he lifted his head and put the rifle down regretfully. He couldn't take the chance on losing Johann. She would have to wait until another time and another place.

  “So let me get this straight,” John said, glancing at Stephanie as he pulled into the dirt road off to the right when she indicated. “We're going to go after a terrorist who is planning an attack on US soil without the backup of the Agency, without even our boss knowing, on the assurance of an old friend that she can “handle” it?”

  “Pull into the trees. I don't want them to hear the truck,” Stephanie directed, “and yes. That's the gist of it.”

  John pulled off the road and into the trees, cutting the engine. They were in the middle of nowhere, following the GPS co-ordinates that the agents who tailed Johann last night had sent them. The agents were encamped a quarter of a mile away with their surveillance equipment. The night before they managed to set up sound in the house and were listening in even now.

  “What about Fred and Paul in yonder surveillance bus?” John demanded.

  Stephanie shrugged.

  “Obviously, they'll have to know. They're my responsibility. I'll take care of it,” she answered calmly. She glanced at John as she pulled a small pair of binoculars out of her purse and put them in her jacket pocket. “You don't have to do it. I'm not trying to make you do something you aren't comfortable with.”

  “Oh yeah,” John scoffed sarcastically, “because I am so much more comfortable with hanging my partner out to dry on her own.” He reached over and opened the glove box, removing his backup and an extra clip. “Where you go, I go. End of story.”

  “Good.” Stephanie nodded. “Then that's settled.”

  She smiled and got out of the truck, closing the door softly. John got out of the truck, muttering to himself, and came around the front of the truck.

  “What makes you so sure Lina's got this?” he demanded as they started moving through the woods parallel to the access road.

  Stephanie pushed a branch out of her way.

  “I don't know,” she admitted. “She just seems like a totally different person when she's addressing this whole issue. Focused. Professional. I get the feeling that she's used to this sort of thing.”

  “What sort of thing?” John asked, stepping over depressed area in the ground that looked suspiciously boggy. “Law enforcement?”

  “Not exactly.” Stephanie grinned at the thought of Alina in law enforcement, federal or otherwise. “I can't explain it. I just think that she is more adept at this than we are.”

  “Have you at least found out who she works for?” John asked.

  Stephanie shook her head.

  “She works for our government, but in what capacity, I have no idea,” she answered. “I'm not sure that I want to know. I think the less we know, the better off we are.”

  “Speak for yourself,” John retorted. “I like to know what I'm working with.”

  Stephanie glanced at him.

  “You know what you're working with,” she said. “You're working with Lina, your ex. You know her as well, if not better, than I do.”

  John shook his head in disagreement.

  “I knew the old Alina,” he retorted. “She's morphed into a completely different person. I have no idea who this new one is, or where she came from.”

  Stephanie opened her mouth to answer, but gasped instead as she stumbled over something in the underbrush. She would have pitched forward onto her face if John hadn't grabbed her arm and hauled her back.

  “Thanks,” Stephanie gasped, her heart thumping.

  “No problem,” John said, letting go of her arm.

  They continued moving through the woods, more carefully now as they glimpsed the house through the trees. The subject of Alina was dropped as they both fell silent, listening for any sounds from the house. Stephanie stopped just short of the last section of trees before the clearing around the house and pulled out her binoculars. There were no curtains in the house and she had a clear view through the front windows from where she stood. She raised the binoculars to her eyes and adjusted them. Shadows were visible toward the back of the front room, but she couldn't make out much more than shapes.

  “What do you see?” John asked.

  Stephanie shook her head slightly.

  “Four, maybe five, people toward the back of the house,” she answered, lowering the binoculars. “They seem to be standing around a table or something, but I can't really tell.”

  “Do you want to try to get closer?” John asked, moving to the side so that he could see more through the trees.

  Stephanie shook her head.

  “No. I think I want to go back to Fred and Paul and listen to what is going on in there,” she said slowly. She looked around with a shiver.

  “What's wrong?” John asked, catching the shiver. Stephanie was frowning.

  “I don
't know,” she answered. “I just felt like someone walked over my grave.”

  John frowned and turned back toward the truck.

  “Come on,” he said. “Let's get out of here. Did you get the plates on that utility truck?”

  “Yes.”

  Stephanie turned to follow him, glancing behind her as she did. She felt like she was being watched. Stephanie took one last look around and then followed John with a sigh. Alina had her spooked and now she was just jumpy.

  There was absolutely nothing there.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Alina turned on the shower and faced the vanity to take her hair out of its pony-tail. It was early afternoon and she had spent the morning studying maps of the terrain around the location where Johann was hunkered down. She also pulled up satellite images of the entire road network in the twenty-mile radius surrounding Three Mile Island. She was planning on driving out there herself, but when Stephanie told her she was going with John, Alina decided to leave the physical recon to them. Instead, she focused on determining the most likely entry and exit points for Johann and his team. It didn't take her very long to see, according to the maps and to the blinking location dot of the tracker on Johann's car, that his exit strategy could not include every member of his team. He had obviously planned for only he and his brother to get out. The rest of the team was expendable, and that told Viper all she needed to know about the whole operation.

  Alina picked up a brush and ran it through her hair before turning toward the shower, her mind absorbed with the problem of Johann. Dimitrius would undoubtedly wait until after Johann had done his job, intercepting him on his way back across the river. That would be the best time, while chaos was erupting elsewhere and while Johann was feeling enough satisfaction to let his guard down just a bit. That's when Viper would choose as well, if she didn't care about the massive loss of human life that would ensue.

  Steam was filling the bathroom from the shower and Alina stepped into the tub carefully, wincing as the hot water hit her face. She stepped back slightly, closing her eyes and relaxing as the hot water streamed over her. Stephanie and John would try to intercept Johann before he blew anything, leaving her in a position of having to work in conjunction with the Feds. Alina opened her eyes and stared at the shower tile through the water. If it came down to it, would Stephanie be able to pull the trigger?

  Alina knew Johann would shoot first before running the risk of being captured. There would be no surrender for him. That's what made him so dangerous. There was no negotiating or bargaining with him. Mossavid was autonomous because Johann was uninterested in politics or in creating relationships that he could use in the future. His one foray into the realms of the civilized communications of the Western World had ended in disaster two years ago. His sole mission was to disrupt and destroy as many members of Christian Western culture as he could, and he was very good at it. The body count caused by Johann under the auspices of Mossavid was staggering. Viper had been brought back from her South American retreat to ensure that Johann was taken care of once and for all, and she had every intention of doing just that. However, if Stephanie accomplished it before she could, then she wouldn't complain. She would then be free to take care of Dimitrius.

  But Johann had to come first.

  Alina sighed and reached for her shampoo. She couldn't count on Stephanie pulling the trigger. She had no idea if Stephanie had ever even been in a position to fire her weapon in the line of duty, let alone kill a man. Alina learned very early on in her military life that different people reacted differently when it actually came down to pulling that trigger. Some were suddenly attacked with previously unmentioned morality, while others just simply froze and forgot everything they ever learned on the firing range. She had no way of knowing how Stephanie would react.

  Viper had to plan on doing it herself.

  Alina rinsed her hair and reached for her soap, her mind still trying to find a way to satisfy her own job, Stephanie's safety, and the safety of thousands of unsuspecting civilians.

  It couldn't be easy, could it, she thought. “Go to Jersey! Finish the job with Johann. Redeem yourself. Then we can all move past this.” That's what they had said.

  Yeah, ok. This is working out just like we planned.

  Alina stepped back under the hot water and let it wash away the soap. She grit her teeth as the soap ran over the hole in her side, causing a momentary burn before the discomfort gave way to heat-induced numbness. Standing with her back to the flow, Alina allowed the water to wash away her tension. She had to re-focus and center herself, then everything else would fall into place.

  By the time she stepped out of the shower some five minutes later, Alina was in a much better frame of mind. Her thoughts were clear and she felt refreshed and ready to go to work. She towel-dried her hair, wrapped the towel around herself, and turned to leave the bathroom. Alina stepped into the bedroom, and froze.

  Her heart started thumping in a mix of surprise and pleasure at the sight of Damon stretched out on the bed, his arms crossed over his chest, propped up with pillows against the headboard. He was dressed in jeans and a teeshirt and his bare feet were crossed at the ankles. He looked like he had been settled in for some time, dozing while he was waiting. His black hair was slightly tousled and a five o'clock shadow darkened his face, lending his rugged good-looks an edge of ruthlessness. His deep blue eyes took in her towel and damp hair in a swift glance before his lips curved into the sexiest smile Alina thought she had ever seen.

  “You just made my day,” he told her.

  Alina's lips curved into an answering smile on their own as her eyes locked with his.

  “That was easy.”

  Damon chuckled and uncrossed his arms and feet, swinging his legs off the bed. He got up and came over to her, his eyes never leaving hers. Alina felt rooted to the spot, unable to move or think. She supposed she should move away and grab a robe or some clothes, but she couldn't seem to make her legs work. Damon stopped directly in front of her and looked down into her face. There was a soft smile in his eyes.

  “I’ve been thinking about you for the past twenty-four hours,” he said softly, lifting his hand to brush a length of wet hair away from her eyes. “It's so good to see you.”

  Alina caught her breath again and tried to keep her breathing steady as her heart thumped against her ribs almost painfully. She wanted to lean forward over the few inches that separated them and kiss him, but she didn't think she would be able to stop if she did. She suddenly realized that somewhere, deep inside, she had been afraid he wouldn't come back.

  “I'm glad you're back,” Alina admitted in a low voice.

  Something flashed deep in Damon's eyes at her words. Satisfaction, perhaps? Happiness? Relief? Alina was left to wonder as he dropped his hands to her hips and gently pulled her to him as he lowered his lips to hers. It was a gentle and undemanding kiss, made that much more powerful by the simple expression of emotion behind it. Alina sighed into him as she lifted her arms to his shoulders, momentarily forgetting all about the towel. Her stomach dropped out inside her and she felt like the house could blow up around them and she wouldn't care. Just as long as Hawk was there, holding her up, everything else could fall apart.

  But then, close on the heels of that warm and comfortable thought, came a stab of unreasonable panic.

  Damon felt the change in her immediately. In a heartbeat, Alina's back stiffened slightly and something inside her withdrew. She was still holding him close, and her lips were still kissing him, but Damon knew she had emotionally stepped back. He ended the kiss and lifted his head, suppressing a small sigh. He understood her better than he suspected she knew herself. Viper was afraid.

  Damon watched through half-closed eyes as Alina slowly opened her eyes. They were warm and dark...and unreadable. But for a few moments, he had felt her feelings. For now, Hawk was content.

  His eyes dropped a few inches and he grinned. The forgotten towel had slipped down and it was only his
own body that was keeping it up. Damon gently grabbed the edges and eased it back up.

  “As much as I’m enjoying this, you should get dressed,” he said huskily with a grin.

  Alina's eyes widened and she gasped as her hands took over the task of tightening the towel around herself again.

  “Thank you,” she said, glancing up at him.

  His grin grew as her cheeks flushed pink.

  “You're welcome.”

  Damon stepped back and watched as she spun around and headed toward the large walk-in closet. His eyes dropped to her barely covered backside and her bare legs and he almost groaned. Turning away to sit on the bed, he glanced up into the corner where Raven was on his perch, silently watching him with his black eyes.

  “You don't have these problems, do you?” Damon muttered.

  Ravens only response was to blink.

  “Did you say something?” Alina poked her head out of the closet. Damon shook his head and she disappeared back into the depths of the closet. “How was Cairo?” she called.

  Damon grinned. He knew she would figure out where he went.

  “It smelled,” he answered.

  Alina chuckled.

  “It always smells,” she agreed, her voice slightly muffled. “Too many people in too little space.”

  Damon looked around the bedroom while he waited for her to emerge from the closet. He had a lot to discuss with her, but he didn't want to do it yelling into the closet. The room was spotless and uncluttered, like downstairs. However, Alina had allowed something of herself to touch the bedroom. The down comforter was covered with a deep red cover and the curtains in the windows were sheers in a matching shade of red. A couple of books were stacked on the bedside table and Damon smiled when he investigated and found them to be spy novels. There were a few candles in the room, all clearly burned regularly, and a flat screen TV graced the wall opposite the bed. Unlike downstairs, the remote was on the bedside table next to the books. This was where Alina relaxed, and Damon felt comfortable here.