by Katie Reus
While they were busy, he made his way to one of the farthest stations set up in the corner of the building. He glanced over his shoulder as he grabbed a tracking device. Not that it technically mattered. He doubted they’d question him, but he needed to be above suspicion for the next ten minutes. Just enough time to get the hell out of there. To get to Sophie.
What he was planning was illegal and if he failed he’d probably get thrown in jail. Okay, there was no probably. Letting Sophie die wasn’t an option, though. He’d sell his soul for her without question.
Without wasting time worrying about the consequences, he headed back to the other hangar. Instead of parking in the front, he parked in the back where there weren’t any other vehicles. Inside the building, everyone still had their guard up, but things had broken down into routine. Round up the bad guys, question them, and get ready to head home. That was the way things always worked, and the routine was the only advantage he could count on.
Plastic sheets were draped over the fallen bodies, and Vargas’s other men had been restrained and were being guarded by a few agents.
As Jack crossed the open floor, he kept his eyes open for any sign of Vargas, but didn’t see him. Wesley nodded in his direction and motioned Jack over to him and an agent.
“I was just telling Johnson I want you to take point on the interrogation. He’ll be standing by, but you make the calls,” Wesley said.
Jack glanced between the two men. “Where is Vargas now?”
Wesley pointed toward the back. “We put him in an office in the back. Once we get everything squared away here, we’ll transfer him.”
“Where are we taking him?”
“One of our satellite offices,” Wesley answered.
Jack nodded. He was aware of at least one office in Miami, but for all he knew, there could be more. The NSA had nondescript offices all over the country. Half the people who worked for them couldn’t tell their families what they did every day. Even Jack wasn’t privy to all their locations. That was the kind of information people would kill for.
As they headed to the back, Johnson cleared his throat. “Listen, man, thanks for earlier.”
“No problem.” Jack guessed the guy was embarrassed that one of Vargas’s guys had managed to disarm him and put a gun to his head in front of everyone, but there wasn’t much he could do about it now. Shit happened.
Johnson was silent for a moment before continuing. “I can’t believe that guy got the drop on me.”
“Don’t let it get to you. It happens to the best of us.” Jack pushed down the foreign twinge of guilt. He could ruin this guy’s career by what he was about to do. “Stay here for a second, will ya?”
Johnson frowned but nodded. Jack made his way back toward his boss. Wesley was talking to one of the Delta Force agents. Perfect.
“Is there a problem?” Wesley asked.
“No problem, I just want someone more experienced with interrogation, especially after what happened earlier.” He nodded at the other agent. “You’re with Delta Force, right?”
The man nodded. “Max Schaeffer.”
Jack looked at his boss. “I want him.”
Wesley’s lips pursed into a thin line as he studied Jack, but he nodded. “Fine.”
As they headed back to where Johnson waited, Wesley stopped him. “How’s Sophie?”
Jack didn’t bother turning around. “Fine,” he threw over his shoulder. Wesley had an uncanny ability for weeding out bullshit. As they neared Johnson, Jack slapped him on the shoulder. “Wesley wants to see you, man.”
Johnson would be pissed at first, but later when he realized what Jack had done, he’d probably thank him. Of course Jack would likely be in jail by then, so it wouldn’t matter. In order to get Vargas out of the building, he was going to have to take out the Delta Force guy. If he’d done it to Johnson, the man would be demoted and probably fired for screwing up twice within the same day. And Jack couldn’t have that hanging on his conscience.
“How do you want to work this?” Schaeffer asked as they turned down the small hallway.
“You can take the lead.” Jack held open the door for the other man.
Jack quickly assessed the situation. Vargas sat at a small desk with his hands cuffed in front of him. One agent leaned against the wall standing guard. He straightened as they entered.
Jack didn’t have any time to waste. In one swift move, he landed a sharp blow to the agent’s right temporal lobe. Near the eye, but not hard enough to inflict any lasting damage. It was a move he’d used too many times to count. Never on one of his own guys, though. Before the agent’s body hit the floor, Jack struck out at Schaeffer.
The guy started to turn as Jack slammed his fist, then elbow across Schaeffer’s back and neck. If he’d reacted a second sooner, things might have turned out differently. Thank God for small miracles. Tension thrummed through Jack, but he kept his focus on the goal.
Get Vargas out of the holding room alive. Get him out of the direct hold of the NSA. Free Sophie.
After that, he would worry about consequences.
Jack stepped over the unconscious body and roughly yanked Vargas up by the collar. When he did, he slipped a tracking device under his shirt.
“What the hell are you doing?” Vargas’s voice held a trace of fear.
“Getting you out of here.” Jack snagged the handcuff keys from the first man he’d knocked out, but didn’t release Vargas.
Easing open the door, he glanced down the short hallway. No one was there, but the men he’d knocked out wouldn’t stay down for long.
“What are you—”
Jack shoved Vargas against the wall, wrapping his hand around his neck. “Keep your mouth shut and you might get out of this alive.”
The other man’s dark eyes narrowed, but he nodded.
There hadn’t been a guard at the back door before, but Jack wasn’t taking the risk. They rushed down the rest of the hallway. When they reached the metal door, Jack opened it two inches.
Relief slammed into him. It was clear. Grasping Vargas’s upper arm, he jerked him outside. Once they were in the relative safety of the SUV, Jack secured the man’s cuffs to the side handle, then gunned the engine. Their window of opportunity to escape undetected was rapidly shrinking.
Getting Vargas out of holding was only half of his problem. Actually getting off the property undetected was going to be the hard part. Instead of driving parallel to the fence outlining the property, he drove behind two hangars, then made a sharp left and sped across the tarmac. The NSA had given orders that all flights be grounded. By driving this way he was putting them out in the open, but the path to the back gate was a lot shorter.
“Where are you taking me?” Vargas snapped.
“Your friend Chadwick wants to make a trade.” Fear for Sophie’s safety a living thing inside him, Jack glanced in the rearview mirror as he maneuvered around parked planes. No one was behind them.
“You know about him?” Vargas’s voice was cautious.
“I do now.”
“I take it from our escape that you are working alone.” It wasn’t a question.
“Your friend has something I want.” Jack’s fingers flexed around the steering wheel. The back gate was still open. No doubt from when Sophie and Chadwick left. Jack was counting down the seconds until he wrapped his hands around that bastard’s neck. When he’d heard Sophie cry out in pain, he nearly lost it. The knowledge that if he’d reacted he would have put her in more danger was the only thing that stopped him.
“Something or someone?”
Yeah, as if he was going to have that conversation with Vargas. “How long have you worked with Chadwick?”
He shrugged. “Long enough.”
Nice, evasive answer. “Who approached whom?”
Vargas shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “W
e approached him, of course.”
Somehow Jack doubted that. Jack was silent as he followed the signs toward I-95.
“Ninety-five South? Where are you taking me?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.” Intentionally, Jack jerked the vehicle sharply as he took the ramp onto the highway. When he did, he retrieved his phone from his pocket and held it down next to his left leg. His phone was usually set to silent, but he’d also set the tone to mute.
Wesley was going to be pissed, but texting him was the only way to communicate. Chadwick has Sophie. Wants 2 trade Vargas. Activate small tracking on V. C has info on Ramaan. Follow. No choppers.
The message was choppy at best, but Wesley would figure it out. Or at least Jack hoped he would.
After pressing SEND, Jack made a show of pulling his phone out of his pocket and dialed Chadwick. Even though Vargas looked uninterested, Jack knew the man was watching his every move. He redialed Chadwick’s number and waited.
He answered midring. “Do you have him?”
“Yes.”
“Good, put me on speaker.”
Jack did as the man ordered.
“Miguel?” Chadwick spoke.
“I’m here,” Vargas said.
“Is anyone following you?”
Vargas turned around as he answered, “Not that I am aware of.”
“Is anyone with you?”
“No, he’s working alone. Took out two of his men to free me.”
“Can you get us out of the country?”
By now Wesley would have grounded every flight in Florida. Something he had the power to do and something Chadwick no doubt knew. Chadwick’s order to free Vargas was a tricky bet, but Jack understood why he’d done it. He clearly didn’t have all the funds he wanted to live his life on the run, and a man like that, who’d betrayed his country, would never be satisfied without all the money he’d been counting on. However much it was, Jack could only guess.
Vargas looked at Jack, a smirk playing across his hard features. “Do not worry about the transportation. I have men on standby.”
“Good. As soon as we get off the phone, Jack, you’re going to throw your phone out. If you don’t, Miguel will tell me at the meet and your girlfriend will pay.”
“Where’s the meet?”
“Do you know where the Channel Five Bridge is in Long Key?”
He’d grown up in south Florida. Of course he knew. “Yes.”
“Turn off onto that abandoned strip right before the original Overseas Highway.”
“We’ll be there.”
“If you’re not, your girlfriend dies.”
“If you don’t have the information you promised, you won’t make it to jail.”
Chadwick hung up.
Though he was loath to do it, Jack tossed his cell out the window. He’d give the slimy bastard credit. He’d covered a lot of his bases. Just not all of them.
“What information has he promised you?” Vargas asked.
Jack shrugged and increased his speed.
“How do you know he won’t betray you?” Vargas spoke again.
Jack internally smiled. Vargas was getting nervous. “I don’t, but he’s got better information than you. I’m willing to take the risk.”
Vargas was silent, so Jack reopened the conversation. “There’s a man that works for you I’m interested in. You sent him after me a few days ago.”
“I don’t know who you are talking about.”
Jack gave a brief description of Levi but didn’t say his name because he assumed Levi had used an alias. Vargas didn’t respond, so Jack guessed he knew exactly who he referred to. “Why wasn’t he with you today?”
“Why do you want to know?”
“Like I said, it’s personal.” Jack couldn’t give the guy a reason, so either he told him or he didn’t.
Vargas shifted against the leather seat, causing his handcuffs to jangle against the side bar. He didn’t speak for so long Jack gave up on him answering. Finally Vargas sighed. “What does it matter? The man you speak of doesn’t work for me anymore.”
“Why not?”
“He did a few contract jobs, then left to hook up with some Russians—which he thinks I don’t know about. He did not follow orders well. Who is he?”
“I’ve been after him for a few years. Thanks for the tip.” Jack made a mental note about the Russians. He’d put Levi out of his mind for the past day, but he wanted to find his friend when all this was over. He just hoped Levi hadn’t gotten in over his head.
Chapter 22
FUBAR: Fucked-up Beyond All Recognition.
In the deafeningly silent vehicle, Sophie fought to keep it together. Tears burned her eyes, but she blinked them back. It was hard, though, when she knew she was going to die.
Had no doubt about it. Jack didn’t give a shit about her. Only information and his damn job were important to him. Her heart might still be beating in her chest, but it wasn’t working. As a young woman she’d loved Sam, but she loved Jack, the man he’d become, just as much. More, even. Something she could finally admit and it didn’t matter. He not only didn’t feel the same but was just like everyone else.
She was disposable. A means to an end.
Her throat and muscles were so tight from holding back the avalanche of tears pressing at her, she was practically shaking.
As Chadwick tapped his gun against the center console, Sophie forced herself to stay calm. She was terrified that any overt movement would set this maniac off. She had one foot inside death’s door, and time was not on her side.
Every time Chadwick glanced at his watch, the more antsy he got. At least he wasn’t chatty. Since his last call to Jack he’d said a few words to her, but only to give her directions. If he wanted to talk she’d start crying and she’d never stop. God only knew how he’d react to that. Probably knock her out or cut her again.
Her yellow sweater sleeve had turned a crimson red, but the bleeding had stopped. Now the dried material was stiff against her arm. Every time she moved she was afraid she’d open the wound again.
They were parked just off the road, right before a long bridge in a gravelly spot that couldn’t be called an actual parking area. From where they sat she had a good view of the new bridge and the older, crumbling one that ran parallel to it.
The turquoise water glistened under the bright sun and there literally wasn’t a cloud in the sky. It seemed impossible that she was being held at gunpoint on such a beautiful day. Cars zoomed past in sporadic intervals, but traffic was fairly light. Every time she saw a dark vehicle in the rearview mirror, she nearly jumped.
Then she cursed herself for the reaction. She had to stay immobile and not give Chadwick a reason to lash out at her.
When the SUV she was watching started to slow and turned off the road she automatically swiveled around in her seat. Chadwick did the same.
“You’re going to do everything I say or you’re getting a bullet in your back.”
Ice slithered through her veins. Swallowing hard, she nodded. The SUV pulled up next to them on her side, but she didn’t make a move to get out.
Chadwick glanced around nervously, then motioned with his gun. “I’m getting out on this side. Climb over the center console.”
She did as he said and the moment her feet touched the ground, he grabbed her by her injured arm, then shoved his gun into her spine.
Little needles of pain splintered up her arm, but raw fear overtook any agony.
Sophie watched as the passenger-side window of Jack’s SUV rolled down. Miguel Vargas was handcuffed to the side handle and Jack was in the driver’s seat.
“Miguel, did he toss his phone?” Chadwick asked.
“Yes.”
“Were you followed?”
“No.”
“Jack
, get out where I can see you.” Chadwick’s voice rose.
Blood rushed in Sophie’s ears, but she kept her focus on Jack. It killed her to even look at his face knowing he cared so little for her, but she knew he’d save her if he could. Even if she wasn’t a priority in this trade-off. The small consolation did little to ease the clawing ache in her chest.
Jack got out but stayed behind the front of the vehicle. “I want what you promised me,” he shouted.
“First come out from behind the SUV. I want to see you.” Chadwick’s voice rang in her ears.
“I’m not putting my weapon down.”
“Fine. I still want to see you.”
Without moving her head, her eyes strayed to Vargas. He sat immobile, looking so calm, as if this were something he did every day.
She was barely keeping it together.
Jack still had his gun drawn as he walked around the vehicle toward them. “Let the girl go, Chadwick. I’ve held up my part of the bargain.”
The girl. God, he didn’t even say her name. She truly meant so little to him.
“First you unlock Miguel.”
Jack’s pale eyes narrowed. “Not until you give me what I came for.”
“Take the minicomputer in the middle seat.”
Gun still pointed in their direction, Jack sidestepped until he opened the door, retrieved it, then transferred it to his vehicle. He then unlocked Vargas with one hand, jerked him from the vehicle, and clasped the man’s hands behind his back and secured the cuffs again. “We exchange at the same time, Chadwick.”
“After the exchange, we leave first,” her captor snapped.
Jack nodded in agreement. “If the information you gave me doesn’t pan out, I’ll hunt you to the ends of the earth. You know that.”
“I haven’t stayed alive this long by being stupid. All I want is to get out of here alive and get my fucking money,” Chadwick snarled. “And if you try anything, I’ll take her down with me.”
Shit, shit, shit. She had no doubt he meant it. Could only imagine what it would feel like to have a bullet ripping into her.
Jack, however, didn’t seem to break a sweat, which further embedded that dagger in her chest. “On the count of two. One, two.”