No Strings Attached

by Julie Moffett

  He stopped what he was doing and looked up at me. “A guy?”

  I closed my eyes. “Okay, fine. It’s Slash. I’m trying to figure out something about him.”

  Hands glanced over his shoulder at Slash and then back at me. “And you’re coming to me about this because?”

  “Because you have to deal with this same kind of thing.”

  “Which is?” He frowned and stood up, brushing his hands off on his pants.

  “Violence and darkness and keeping sane with it.” I struggled with the right words. “It’s hard to explain but sometimes, especially in dangerous situations, Slash turns into a completely different person. He can hurt people, kill them, without blinking an eye. When it’s done, it’s like nothing happened—he just moves on. How does he deal with that? And, as his girlfriend, how do I deal with that...with him?”

  He took me by the arm, turning me away from Slash, lowering his voice. “Look, this is the first time I’ve ever met Slash in person, but it’s clear from the way he talks and moves he’s had some military or paramilitary training. In life-and-death circumstances, our training takes over. Completely. It’s what keeps the people we are protecting and ourselves alive. At this point, it’s as natural and instinctive to him as breathing. He couldn’t turn it off even if he wanted to. It will be a part of him until he dies. It’s a sacrifice people like Slash and myself accept as soon as we say yes to the service, be it the Navy SEALs or an intelligence operative. You’ll either have to accept that as an integral part of him...or leave him because of it, Keys.”

  I was silent, thinking, so he spoke again.

  “I’ll say one more thing. You can’t change this about him, so don’t even try. His training, his reflexes, they are a part of him now. The hard truth is that it takes a special kind of person to love a man like him...like me. That may, or may not, be who you are. But let me give you a perspective from his side. When we do finally find someone who can love us—even knowing that dark side of us—that person is a treasure worth keeping.”

  Hands raised his arm at something over my shoulder. I turned around. Slash was waving us over. Hands slapped me on the back and picked up his duffel bag. “Speaking of single-minded focus...”

  “I know, I know. Mission time.”

  “Don’t worry, Keys. You’ve got this.”

  I wasn’t sure whether he referred to the mission, the situation with Slash or both. I’m not sure it really mattered at this point.

  “You’ve got the comm gear?” Slash asked Hands as we approached.

  Hands opened his duffel and pulled out the equipment. Slash handed them to us and showed Beau and me how to insert them into our ears. We did a quick check, making certain we could all hear each other.

  Hands spent a few minutes showing us how to work them, before putting a hand on my shoulder. “Perfect. You’ve got it down. Just like old times.”

  “This is little different, of course,” I replied grinning.

  “Of course.” He laughed. “God, I’ve missed you. Bet you’re going to like this. Just promise me no screaming or falling down.”

  Slash glanced at me and raised an eyebrow. “Obviously there are more nuances to your operational experience and technique than I was aware of. Perhaps you can fill me in later?”

  I rolled my eyes, but it made me smile. They were putting me at ease, which I greatly appreciated.

  Hands opened the back doors of the van and I hopped in.

  I whistled. It was set up with the necessary electronic equipment I’d requested on a small card table with a folding chair. All it needed now was my laptop and brain.

  “Excellent job, guys,” I breathed.

  “Your brother secured most of it.”

  “Hands and the Zimmerman brothers guided me,” Beau said. “Couldn’t have done it without them.”

  He pulled back a cloth covering a rack of additional equipment such as batons, ropes, flashlights, cuffs and other assorted boxes.

  I glanced over at my brother. He lifted his shoulders. “Courtesy of the Baltimore PD.”

  “You checked this out?” I said in surprise.

  “Not exactly.”

  I didn’t want to know, so I didn’t ask further.

  I climbed in and inspected the equipment, plugging in some cords and making sure everything was properly connected.

  “Your part is critical, Lexi,” Hands warned. “We’re relying on you to be our ears and eyes.”

  “Understood.”

  Slash looked over at Beau. “You’ve got the Tasers?”

  I came out of the van to watch. Beau returned to the front seat and came back with three Tasers that looked more like guns and three fat rolls of duct tape. He handed one of each to Slash and Hands and then held up his own Taser.

  “This X3 Taser series offers the highest takedown power available. The blast, which is fifteen feet, will temporarily override the central nervous system and can bring down a three-hundred-and-fifty-pound male with one blast. The stream hurts like a mother, though, so they’ll scream like a baby while going down. There is also a stun gun backup, which means you can also stun on contact as needed.” He pointed and then fired the Taser. “Perhaps most important, the X3 can fire three times instead of just once per weapon. This gives us nine shots to subdue everyone in the house.”

  Slash and Hands studied the controls, holding them out to get a feel for them. I climbed back into the back of the van and began running a check of my own.

  After completing my setup, I called Elvis. He answered on the first ring.

  “I’m ready,” I said. “Take me in, please.”

  Elvis took control of my laptop and within two minutes I was inside the house on Upton Street’s security system. There were five camera views. Rock sat on the couch, his hands were secured behind his back and his body anchored to the couch by a rope. A guy in a gray-hooded sweatshirt and dark pants sat comfortably in an adjoining armchair watching television. I was so relieved to see Rock alive, tears formed in my eyes. I took a moment to get control of myself, then took a thorough look through the rest of the rooms serviced by the security cameras.

  When I finished, I went outside to report to the guys.

  “Okay, we’ve got three guys and one woman, for a total of four, in addition to Rock, in the house as far as I can see,” I said. “I don’t have an angle into every room, so you’re going to have to be prepared for contingencies. Right now the woman is in the living room with Rock and one other guy. They are watching television, but the woman is on the move, walking around and talking on a phone. There are two more guys moving around in the kitchen. Watch the woman. She’s personally taken down at least one NSA employee, probably two. Good news—the house alarm is not activated. My guess is they set it when they are out or asleep. That should aid our access into the house.”

  Hands pulled out the diagram of the house and spread it out in the back of the van while everyone huddled around, looking at it.

  Hands pointed to the kitchen. “Slash, Beau, you guys take the two in the kitchen. I’ll take the two in living room, here, including the woman.” He tapped on the spot. “Lexi, guide us the best you can so that we bring them down as simultaneously as possible. Trust me, as soon as the first person goes down and starts screaming a merry tune, the party will be underway. Everyone in the house will know we’re there.”

  My heart was pounding, but I nodded. “Understood.” I had to be calm for everyone. Right now, my two brothers, boyfriend and friend were all at risk if I didn’t do this right.

  Hands looked at me. “Are we ready, Keys?”

  I steeled my nerves. This was my plan. These were my orders.

  “We’re ready. Let’s go, team.”

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Beau drove us a block away from the house on Upton Str
eet, parking along the curb across from the house and down the street a bit. Before exiting the van, Hands handed out SEAL night-ops masks. They weren’t true masks, but they greatly reduced exposed white skin and made individual faces hard to distinguish. After a final communications check, Slash hopped out and slapped two magnetic cameras on the outside of the van so I could monitor street and pedestrian traffic. They headed for the house while I took position in front of my laptop in the rear of the van. I reviewed the cameras again, confirming the new exterior cameras were working, my eyes hopping back and forth between the views on my laptop, trying to keep track of everyone’s movements.

  I gave my first report as they approached the yard and hunkered down near some bushes. “There are still three in the family room—Rock, one guy and the woman. Rock is alone on the couch. The other guy has remained in the armchair near the back sliding glass door. The woman is walking around the room and still talking on her cell.”

  “Roger that,” Hands said.

  “There are two men in the kitchen. One guy is sitting at the kitchen table now. He’s facing the opening into the kitchen from the living room and the back door to the kitchen. The other guy is doing something at the stove, probably cooking. His back is to the guy at the table. Both men appear to be wearing shoulder holsters, so I would presume they are armed. The kitchen back door is out as an entrance because of the guys in the kitchen and the sliding glass door entry is out, too.”

  “Okay, team,” Hands said. “Given the location of the hostiles, looks like we’re going to have to stroll in through the front door.”

  Oh, God, it was crazy that the front door offered the safest option, but there you had it. I swallowed hard.

  “Should we knock or ring the bell?” Beau joked.

  “Hilarious,” Hands said. “Hey, hotshot policeman, you got that lock pick set handy?”

  “Yes, sir,” my brother answered. “Official law enforcement grade.”

  “Good. Lexi, confirm the alarm system is off.”

  “Confirmed.”

  “Let’s move out, then,” Hands said.

  I held my breath, waiting for them to appear on the front door security camera. Moments later they streaked across the lawn and crouched down by the front door. Thankfully the porch light was not on, which gave them the barest shred of cover.

  I checked all the security cameras to confirm that no one had changed location. No one had.

  I heard a small clink and assumed Beau had opened the lock pick kit. Hands and Beau started whispering about which would be the best tool to use when Slash reached up and turned the knob on the door.

  It opened.

  “First rule,” he whispered. “Check to see if the door is open.”

  Hands swore under his breath as I checked the camera view in the foyer. The area was empty.

  “Foyer is clear,” I said, but my heart took a dive. “I’ve lost the woman. Repeat. She is no longer in the family room or the kitchen.”

  I checked all the other cameras, but she’d vanished. “She might be upstairs or in the bathroom. It’s hard to say.”

  The front door remained ajar. They waited there exposed. The chance for discovery grew greater with every moment they hesitated.

  “We’re going in,” Hands murmured. “React as needed. Whoever finds the woman, consider her a target of opportunity.”

  I wasn’t sure exactly what that meant, but apparently everyone else did, because they slipped into the house without another word. They disappeared from my front door camera view, so I switched to the foyer view. Hands peeled off to the right, heading for the family room, while Slash and Beau went left, slipping into the dining room en route to the kitchen.

  I temporarily lost sight of everyone. Concerned, I rechecked all the views. Rock and one man were still in the family room watching television. The two guys remained in the kitchen—one still at the table and the other at the stove.

  “There’s still one guy at the kitchen table,” I murmured. “Beware. He has a clear view of both entrances into the kitchen.”

  To my surprise both guys in the kitchen went on alert, as if they’d heard something in the backyard. The guy at the table stood.

  “Uh-oh. The guys in the kitchen are on the move,” I warned.

  Worried, I checked the back door camera, but saw nothing in the yard. When I popped back to the kitchen view, both men were peering out the back window. It presented Slash and Beau with a clean entry and clear shots at their backs.

  “Go,” I ordered, but Slash and Beau were already in motion.

  At that moment a scream came from the family room. My heart leaped to my throat as I switched over and saw the guy in the armchair was down and twitching. Hands was on one knee beside him, ripping off chunks of duct tape with surprising efficiency. Rock was untouched, although clearly terrified.

  Screams now came from the kitchen. Both men were down there, as well, and Slash and Beau were working on subduing them with duct tape, but with considerably less effectiveness and a lot more swearing under their breath.

  I examined the other cameras for the woman, but still nothing. She had to have heard the commotion. Where was she?

  I kept my voice calm. “Still no visual on the woman. Remember she is armed. Take no chances.”

  I caught a sudden glimpse of movement in one corner of the foyer camera, but when I pulled up the full view, no one was in sight. I was about to say something when I noticed Hands had disappeared from the family room. Now, I had no idea whether the movement was from Hands, the woman, or someone else in the house we didn’t know about.

  I glanced back at the kitchen where Beau and Slash were talking quietly while wrapping the feet of the last man. Suddenly, at the bottom corner of the camera at the entrance between the dining room and the kitchen, I saw an arm extend with a gun.

  “Gun!” I shouted, just as the arm with the gun disappeared from view.

  Slash and Beau whirled around, paused and then stood up carefully, facing the door to the dining room. I couldn’t see what they could, but my imagination was filling in the blanks with the woman holding a gun on them and slowly squeezing the trigger, milking every amount of terror out of her victims.

  Suddenly Hands stepped into the kitchen, dragging the woman by her collar. She was still twitching uncontrollably. He dropped her on the floor, nodded silently at the duct tape and disappeared again, presumably to make certain the rest of the house was clear.

  Slash trussed her up as Beau stood guard. A minute later Hands returned.

  He turned toward the security camera and gave me a thumbs-up with his gloved hand. “Mission accomplished.”

  “Good, finish it off,” I said. My hands were still shaking. “Police have been notified. Their ETA is approximately two minutes.”

  Hands went into the living room and cut Rock loose from the rope tethering him to the couch and his cuffs.

  “You’re safe now,” I heard Hands say gruffly as Rock stood on shaky legs. “Just stay here. The police are on their way. Tell them these folks were holding you hostage and threatening your life. You were rescued by some mysterious people you don’t know, and who didn’t say anything.”

  “How do I thank you? I don’t know your name.”

  “No thanks necessary. Just make sure these guys spend a lot of time in jail.”

  “Trust me. That won’t be a problem,” Rock said rubbing his arms.

  “Get out of there, guys,” I warned. “You first, Hands. I don’t want you anywhere near this place when the police arrive. Beau, follow him out.”

  Hands opened the sliding glass door and he and Beau slipped out, dashing across the backyard. Slash was about to follow when I gasped. A quick glance at the street view camera showed a car pulling into the driveway of the house. It stopped and the driver hopped out.

&
nbsp; “Guys, we’ve got a problem,” I said as calmly as I could. “Jiang Shi is here.”

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Hands swore so loudly through my comm link, I winced. My thoughts raced. What should I do? Slash could take Rock with him, but that meant the people in the house who had kidnapped him would go free. On the other hand, if we left Rock behind, Shi might hurt him.

  What should I do?

  Slash hesitated at the sliding glass door. He, too, was clearly conflicted for the same reasons.

  I made an executive decision. “Hands, get out of there. You, too, Beau. Proceed as planned. I repeat, do not divert from the plan. Slash, stand by.”

  I focused on the outside camera view. Shi had exited the car and was headed toward the front door.

  Shi inserted the key in the lock of the door. I had exactly one second to decide what to do. Whatever happened, this was on me.

  To my great relief, the solution abruptly presented itself as a police siren suddenly sounded from just a few blocks away. Shi paused trying to get a sense of the direction when it became clear that the sirens were getting louder. A few moments later, a police car squealed into the driveway, its lights spotlighting Shi at the front door, his keys still in the lock.

  “Police are here,” I said to Slash. “Go. Go. Go!”

  Slash left, closing the sliding glass door behind him and disappearing from view. Rock yelled after him, clearly not recognizing Slash and thoroughly confused by the events going on around him.

  At the front of the house, Shi turned in astonishment, blinking at the bright lights, as police jumped from the car shouting orders and brandishing their weapons at him. Shi held up his hands, anger and confusion showing on his face.

  “Hurry up, Beau,” I urged.

  “I’m hurrying,” Beau answered. I heard some huffing and puffing and figured he was running.

  There was a noise at the back of the van and Slash hopped in and closed the door behind him, pulling off his mask and gloves and tossing his roll of duct tape in the corner.

  He joined me at the laptop, peering over my shoulder.