SLEEPER (Crossfire Series)

by Gennita Low

  She realized now he must know about Amber and her friendship. He’d asked her many questions about her past. It must have been part of his assignment, to find out how much she remembered. But he’d never pressed her about Amber or her betrayal in any way. He’d understood her pain and had respected it.

  “You ready to go get our girls?” Amber asked, letting her go.

  Lily took a deep breath. “Yes.” There would be time later to talk.

  Reed straightened and came to join them. “Lily’s given me the location where she’s hidden the device,” he said, his eyes never leaving Lily’s. “We’ve to pick it up before the meeting with Gunther.”

  Amber nodded. “Agreed. Let’s get started.”

  Lily tugged on Reed’s sleeve. “Thank you,” she mouthed.

  “For what?”

  “For being a friend.” She wanted to kiss him. She was beginning to realize it mattered to her that he saw her in a good light, that he didn’t think she was a traitor. “For taking care of me.”

  His serious expression softened. “It’s becoming a habit. I think I deserve a hug too.”

  In spite of the tension of the moment, Lily found herself smiling back at Reed. “Later,” she promised.

  * * *

  Greta inserted the decoder into the USB port on the laptop and clicked the ‘Run’ command. Gunther had told her that tonight would be the big one, when they would get their hands on both the weapons device and Llallana Noretski.

  She didn’t care about the girl so much. That was Gunther’s thing, even though the project sounded intriguing. But after giving it some thought, she’d rejected the notion of a true alliance. No, this would be her little revenge for the problems he’d caused her. The most satisfying part was getting rid of the guards he’d put in his house. As if they could stop her!

  First, and most important of all, she was going to deliver the weapon to Headquarters. That was her original order and she was going to stick to it. Deviating from it seemed wrong, especially when she was so close to finally being home. Why throw it all away because of ambition?

  Gunther would have those girls. That ought to placate him. Or she could get Talia to do that. She seemed to get along with him so well.

  A part of her was a little jealous. If she were ten years younger, Gunther would be paying her the same attention. She wasn’t beautiful like her niece, but she had her ways with men. She’d always been able to get any man she’d wanted. She touched her face.

  Maybe a little face-lift by the surgeon who had redone Talia’s face. Why not? It’d be a great second celebratory present for her retirement. Her first one would be getting the device, of course.

  Greta picked up her cell phone and called Talia. She inspected one chipped finger nail.

  “There’s no problem at my end. I found the tampon in the wastebasket. Ingenious. Gunth didn’t check your handbag thoroughly enough,” Greta said. There was half a micro-drive hidden in the cotton. It fit into another part that was in another tampon Talia had handed to her. Together, once inserted into the USB port of a computer, it would upload and download information like a flash drive. Quite an amazing gadget. “I’m downloading what I’ve taken from his house to your network now.”

  “Good. With the layout, we won’t have any problems going straight in and getting what we want,” Talia said.

  “Yes.” Greta was still mulling over what to do with her niece when this was over. She didn’t think she needed to kill her. It irked her, though, whenever Gunther smiled at her, as if he’d been having second thoughts about getting rid of her. Once she’d given him some funds, would he still smile at her that way? “What has Gunther said to you about the plans tonight?”

  “He’s getting everything secured and moving immediately to the facility. He wants to show me how it’s done with that girl, so I’ll be going there, of course. That leaves you to call in late. Give a simple excuse. A flat tire would suffice, Auntie Greta, nothing elaborate or he’ll know something’s going down. Secure the rest of the information he has on his hard drive and leave. We’ll analyze it later together. Do you need me to run through with you how to activate the decoder to get his passwords?”

  “No, I know how, don’t worry.” She had been doing that for ten years. Decoding. Encryption. Blah blah blah. She wanted action. “I’ll download everything to your network and join you all. If Gunther gets too suspicious, Talia, make your move before he does. He’s a lot quicker than you think.”

  “I’ll be surrounded by all his men, Auntie. I can’t make any move unless I want to get killed. I’m depending on you to get this done right. Be sure you load the file that he mentioned, the one the KGB had left in the archive. He said that’s the program he wants to study. If we want to take over this whole thing, we want to have everything he’s got.”

  “I’ll see you soon.” It felt good to be finally getting the best of Gunther. Greta might not be able to climb walls like she used to, but she could still outsmart someone like him. He had no field experience. Tonight she would show him what a counter-mission was all about.

  CHAPTER 19

  So far so good. Gunther Galbert had fallen for the trap, thinking he’d reactivated “Lily” when Nikki had called.

  Reed looked through the binoculars, easily picking out Lily sitting on the bench. Gunther Galbert had instructed her to meet him with the device at a children’s playground. At this time of the night and in this weather, there wouldn’t be many people around.

  He didn’t want Lily out there alone, but he had no choice. Galbert would be looking for her. He knew what she looked like, so using a decoy wouldn’t work.

  The idea was to keep it as simple as possible so that Lily didn’t have to talk to the man. The moment he pulled up, she was to pretend to turn and get the box, then run like hell as an element of surprise. This would give Reed and the team enough time to shoot. Game over for Galbert.

  “I can do this,” Lily had assured Reed. “Promise me, if anything goes wrong, just shoot. Don’t let him use me again.”

  “I won’t let him take you,” Reed said.

  Nikki had said that Greta, the other person looking for Lily, would be picked up later. Reed assumed she was guarding the girls somewhere while she waited for Galbert’s return. He’d been told Hawk and his SEAL brothers were running that particular mission. He missed being with them, but—he sighted the scope again—he’d rather be here to protect Lily. The men who were with him here were good professionals, but he didn’t know them well.

  A car’s headlights cut into the darkness. He watched Lily adjust her jacket, touching her mic briefly, to make sure it was still there.

  “Everyone on alert,” Reed said over his mic. “Stand by for signal.”

  “Ten-four.”

  “Ten-four and ready to shoot at target.”

  The vehicle slowed down as it approached Lily. The door opened.

  “Run,” Reed ordered softly, willing her to move.

  His heart sank as Lily remained where she was, staring into the vehicle. Why wasn’t she running? She was standing too close for them to shoot.

  “Hold your fire,” Nikki’s voice came on the mic. “I repeat, hold your fire.”

  Reed couldn’t breathe as they all waited.

  “Good evening, Llallana. As you can see, I have your friend here with me.”

  A man’s voice came over Lily’s mic and Reed trained his eyes on the scene below him. Lily still hadn’t moved. That had to be Galbert talking to her now.

  “Let Tatiana go,” she said, sounding tense and angry.

  Damn it. Galbert had been prepared for a setup. “He’s got one of the girls with him,” Reed said, knowing the men around him would need an explanation. “Lily isn’t going anywhere. Not if she sees Tatiana in danger. Let’s hope our guy doesn’t realize he’s surrounded by a team.”

  From the recorded conversation with Nikki, Galbert appeared to be under the impression that Lily was still alone, except for the man she’d been s
een around town with. That was Reed, of course. Galbert had ordered “Lily” to be alone. Obviously, he hadn’t trusted that his orders would be followed.

  Reed slung his weapon over his shoulder. He needed to get a lot closer.

  “You don’t think I’d come here without some sort of protective measure, do you?” he heard the man continue. “Just in case it wasn’t you on the phone, you know. Now, in case that boyfriend of yours is around, the one you met at the club, he won’t shoot just yet, not if you come with me quietly, right? Talia, go on out and tie her up. The girl can fight, so be careful.”

  Reed paused to use his scope again. Was that Greta? No, he’d heard Galbert call her Talia. Another woman exited the car, pointing her weapon at Lily. Damn it, by the time he got down there, she’d already be in the car. He could shoot the woman, but Lily would still be in danger as long as she didn’t get out of the way. He watched helplessly as the woman tied Lily up.

  “Do we have a vehicle ready to follow them?” Reed said into the mic, trying to keep the fear from showing in his voice. Once Galbert had Lily and realized there was nothing in that box, he’d make her tell him the truth, that Hawk was on the way to pick up the device. Reed’s jaw clenched at the thought of what might happen to Lily then.

  “Yes, it’s taken care of,” Nikki replied. Reed had to give it to her. The whole plan had just gone to hell and she sounded as if there was nothing wrong. “We’ll have to see what Galbert does next before we move.”

  “He’s going to open the box.” He couldn’t keep that calm. “I’m going down there, just in case.”

  “Reed, hold your fire till I say so,” Nikki warned. “Trust me on this.”

  Not replying, Reed jumped off the ledge onto another. He didn’t want to confirm that order, not when he couldn’t see for sure what was happening. Listening in only magnified the danger. He’d found there was no way to be an objective sharpshooter when his emotions were engaged in Lily’s and Gunther Galbert’s conversation.

  “Now, I suspect there’s nothing in this box, Llallana, and that you’ve once again disobeyed me. Am I right?”

  “If you know already, why are you here?” Lily asked. “And stop jamming that gun against Tatiana. You have me now. Let her go. In fact, why don’t you give up? I called the authorities, and they have this place surrounded.”

  “Good girl,” Reed mouthed. Sound desperate. Make the bastard think you’re trying to deceive him.

  “I’ve had that man of yours checked out. He’s an MIA UN soldier. He’s been working on his own for a while now. I don’t think he wants the authorities to be in on this. No, he’s out there right now wondering what the hell to do next. Choices, you know? Money or love? Device or Llallana?” There was a gasp of pain. “This little one reminds me of you. Full of hate, the powerful emotion. She’s going to be an excellent candidate for a sleeper cell, don’t you think?”

  “You bastard!” Lily’s voice shook with rage. “I’ll kill you before I let you do that to her.”

  “We’ll see who gets killed tonight. Talia, put those headphones on her.”

  “What are you doing?” Lily asked.

  Reed could hear struggling as he slithered down a rope, using his legs to push off the wall. He was almost down on the ground. What the hell was Galbert doing to her? Then everything quieted down. His heart thundered in his chest as he kept going.

  “Look at her, Talia. She’s under already. She’s been programmed to respond to that signal, you see.”

  “Amazing, it’s like she’s waiting for something.”

  “My instructions. It’s only been a few months, so she’ll go under easier. The first time I found her, it took me several tries before I realized there were different levels. She had a pretty strong mind and fought the urge to obey for a good while. Look at her now, though, totally under my control. Just to be sure, I’ll leave the headphones on till we get back. I’m going to get her to lure that boyfriend of hers out. After we’ve dealt with him, she should be ready to lead us to the weapon. Start the car. I’m sure he’ll follow.”

  There was one last ledge onto the ground below, very close to the edge of a small wall that enclosed the playpen for young kids. Once he got down there, he would be close enough to see the details of the vehicle. The window was cracked open slightly. He wanted to rush over there and take out Galbert immediately. Reed couldn’t let her leave with that bastard. He wouldn’t let her be used again. It would devastate her.

  “Reed! Did you copy my orders?” Nikki asked sharply over the mic.

  “Copy,” Reed said reluctantly. His attention was focused on what was happening inside the vehicle as he moved to the edge of the ledge.

  “Llallana, can you hear me? Do you know that things fall apart?” Gunther asked.

  “No!” Reed said aloud, jumping down onto the ledge and rolling off it.

  “Things fall apart and what’s the next line, Llallana?”

  “She’s quiet. Is she resisting?” the woman in the car asked.

  “She can’t resist. Continue driving, Ivan.”

  Reed pulled up his weapon, aimed at the speeding vehicle, and fired. The car swerved to the right, corrected itself, and kept going at high speed.

  “Stop shooting, Reed! You’ll injure Lily and the other girl if the car overturns or smashes into one of the walls,” Nikki ordered.

  Reed cursed as he glared at the taillights. So near, yet so far. He was not going to fail Lily.

  “Reed, there’s a vehicle on the way to the south end of the playpen. Get there now.”

  He stared at the car taking Lily away for a second, then rushed to the location, all the while listening in on the conversation in the car getting away.

  “He’s good,” Galbert was saying. “Like I suspected, nothing in the damn box. Let that bastard follow, just in case he has the device. That would save us a trip back.”

  Reed jumped into the waiting car. He nodded curtly at the commando who was driving. If he had his way, he would be the one driving. Damn it, if he had his way, he would have shot out both tires by now. But Nikki was right; that could have caused an accident.

  Why wasn’t Lily saying anything? Reed clenched his jaw in frustration to keep the flow of cuss words from tumbling out. Nikki was still on the other end of the intercom.

  “Are we going to get our reinforcements behind us?” he asked instead.

  “No, your team’s already headed that way, Reed.”

  It was the first piece of welcomed news he had. “My SEAL team?” he asked, just to make sure.

  “Yes, it’s the STAR SEALs, with Hawk McMillan and Jazz Zeringue at the helm,” Nikki said. “They’re awaiting inside information of the layout as of now, but not all of it has been delivered.”

  “We can’t afford to wait anymore,” Reed said impatiently. “With Lily as prisoner, Gunther will have access to the weapon’s location. His facility will be well armed, so saving her before he enters his building is top priority.”

  “I’m radioing your team commander now and getting his opinion. Stand by, Reed.”

  As Reed looked on the vehicle in the distance, an unsettling thought occurred to him. What if Hawk didn’t care whether he saved Lily or not? After all, she had almost gotten Amber Hutchens, Hawk’s girlfriend, killed.

  “Reed?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Here’s Hawk’s message, and I’m reading it word for word. He said, ‘Tell Joker we’ll make a direct hit when the vehicle goes through the electronic gate. Once the vehicle isn’t functioning, the target would call in for help and it’ll give Joker a few minutes to approach the vehicle. The target would probably be using Lily as a hostage situation. Joker has five minutes to get her out of danger. We don’t know how many hostiles would be coming out to help Galbert, so if he doesn’t get her away by then, we have no other option but to do a direct strike with Lily as captive.’ Did you copy that, Reed?”

  “Copy. Ten-four,” Reed replied.

  Hawk was telling him th
at he had only one small window of opportunity to save Lily. Reed gripped his high-powered rifle tightly. Please God. Don’t let him fail Lily.

  CHAPTER 20

  Reed wound down the car window. Gunther Galbert didn’t seem to care that he was being followed. Through the mic, Reed heard him chatting amiably to his female companion, telling her how he’d gotten hold of the secret CIA files and tracked down Llallana Noretski.

  He listened with a quiet, building rage. This was the man responsible for what had happened to Lily. She’d carried the guilt all these months, but he was the one who’d played on her paranoia, using it to feed the emotional trigger he’d used, slowly moving her as a pawn in his endgame. And now he had plans to use these other kids the same way, too.

  “Nikki, if you’re listening in to this piece of shit, you of all people should understand why I’m going to take him out,” he said, unable to keep the anger out of his voice.

  There was a short pause. “I heard it all, Reed. There are just too many scum in this world to worry about, aren’t there?”

  These GEM operatives. They never liked to speak directly, did they? “One less scum won’t be missed,” he agreed. Galbert’s car disappeared down a small country trail. Reed turned to the commando driving the car to warn him. “Possible ambush.”

  “We’re getting close to the old converted factory. It has an underground tunnel used during World War Two. Once Galbert gets inside the grounds, he’ll use the tunnel to confuse us.” The man glanced at him. “Of course, he thinks it’s just you against his men. He wants you alive still, just to make sure you don’t have the isotope explosive device.”

  Reed looked sharply at the other man. In the dark, he had only been able to make out the blond hair under the pulled-up hood. The black body suit did its job of giving anonymity. “You know it’s an IED?” GEM had been very careful to only use generic terms when referring to the stolen weapon, in case traffickers got wind of it. An IED was a generic term, most often interpreted as ‘improvised explosive device.’ There was nothing improvised about this particular weapon. Only a handful of people knew what the isotope explosive device looked like, including its compounds and materials. GEMs…Hawk…the admiral…COS commandos.