by Kells, India
“Why did you do it? With me, I mean. I know for a fact you love women. Can’t get your hands off them. Loud and clear in your head.”
Sully looked at him straight in the eyes. “Because we needed it. Both of us. The connection. After reflection, I think this is what saved us. With the horror and despair we’d gone through, we had to feel alive. And I cannot think of anybody I could have found that with besides you, man.”
Lance smiled. “Yeah. And now, I think you have found another strong friendship, buddy.”
Sully grinned. “The best thing about it is she doesn’t know it yet.”
Lance snickered. “I’ll be waiting for the wedding invitation.”
“Fuck you.”
“I won’t even go there, man.”
They stayed silent for a moment. Then, Lance retrieved folded papers from under his body armor. “Here, I got the imaging you requested.”
Sully took the papers and saw the satellite images of three locations with an impressive amount of satellite dishes on their roofs.
“What are you searching for, Sully?”
“I’m not sure yet, but it’s linked with the admiral’s abduction. Very probably a repercussion of the admiral asking me for this precise information. That I’m sure of. I couldn’t ask for the Teams’ help, they’re under absolute shutdown. And I wouldn’t be surprised to learn they’re under surveillance, too. From what I could find out, all Teams are grounded and everyone abroad is being investigated.”
“I already know my men and I are under surveillance. Well, when we’re not trying to evade it like right now. The upper watchdogs will investigate everybody, and that includes you.”
“Yeah, for sure. But I cannot report yet. If I do, they’ll bring me back home, and I could do better work here, trying to find James and sort out that fucked up situation.”
“Alone? You’re good, but it’s more than a one-man mission.”
“I’m not alone, Lance.”
“If you’re referring to the blonde bombshell, hate to disappoint, but apart from warming your bed—”
“She’s Purgatory, Lance. And she can surely hold her own. She did so far. She saved my ass from the get go.”
Lance’s eyes zeroed on Gabrielle in a way that Sully knew too well.
“Sully, be careful. If she’s indeed Purgatory, from what I heard, she may be part of the very organization who abducted the admiral to start with. That’s the rumor going around, anyway. And that rumor grows stronger and more solid with each passing hour.”
Sully ignored his friend’s comment and turned to see Gabrielle kneeling in front of Alie, who was now sitting on the side of the bed, unsure and constantly looking at him. It got to him. The girl had suffered more than he could ever imagine. She didn’t have any solid grip to hold onto and he was glad he could be one for her, even if it was temporary. When she got to her feet, Luke, disheveled and still half-asleep, rubbed her lower back. The kid had surprising self-control. He didn’t know if it came from being a doctor or fleeing to the other side of the world in fear for his life.
Alie wobbled to where he stood with Lance. The young woman eyed the newcomer with a little apprehension. Sully knew he had to make her trust Lance as quickly as possible. They only had minutes to spare.
“Alie, sweetheart, this is Lance. He will protect you and bring you back to your family.”
The girl glanced at his friend as if he was about to deliver her back to the bad guys. Sully rubbed her shoulders and smiled. “He’s one of the good guys, even if he doesn’t look like it.”
Lance elbowed Sully and smiled teasingly at the frightened girl. “Ah, come on, you know I was always the friendly, good-looking one.”
“You wish.” And as he hoped, Alie relaxed a little at their friendly banter.
Lance extended his hand to the girl. “My name is Lance Sorenson; I’m a Navy SEAL like Sully. I’m part of a special task force that also works with the US government. I’ve been in touch with your father and the ambassador, and we have taken dispositions to bring you back to them today.”
Alie took his hand and cradle her extended belly with the other.
A creak distracted Sully for a moment; the sound seemed to come from upstairs. And his fear became reality when gunshots exploded from a distance. Someone screamed. Colette!
Gabrielle pulled Alie and Luke from the staircase.
Lance’s face was grim as he took position beside him. It sounded like someone threw a large object down the stairs. It bumped and slid to a stop against the door. Colette, he was sure of it.
Lance opened the door carefully to assess the situation, cursed, and closed the door, locking it with the deadbolt.
“Shit!” he cursed again, hitting his fist against the metal.
“I’m sorry, man. I know she was your friend.”
“Yeah. An annoying one, but a friend. Hell, who’s following you, Sully?”
“I don’t know yet, but by the look of them, they’re trained, no doubt about it. And the more I think of this situation, the more I believe Alie is linked to it all. So be extra careful, Lance. She will be a target, too.”
“I will … but we have to get out of here first.”
Before Sully could answer, Lance made a gesture for him to stay silent. Someone was talking to him through his earpiece.
“Copy that, keep close until I confirm the other extraction point.” Lance turned to Sully. “Five men have entered the premises. Heavily armed. From the report, they don’t have anybody outside for the moment, giving us a temporary advantage. My men are in the extraction van, circling. But we need to get out of here fast before they cage us for good.”
Sully scanned the basement but didn’t see any possible escape. Lance walked passed him and surveyed the walls. “Colette once told me there was a secret door somewhere here. An emergency escape.”
Sully started to study the doors for any seam, crack, or line indicating a door.
He didn’t look up when Gabrielle went into the small kitchenette, until she whistled softly.
“It’s an old building, guys. Impossible to hide an escape route in plain sight as we’re surrounded by concrete walls. So it’s behind something. And the biggest thing here is the refrigerator. Come use your muscles for something useful.”
Lance glance at Sully, but he shook his head. The two men stared at the refrigerator.
“Gentlemen, it’s behind it, chop chop!”
“How do you know?”
“Easy, the upper level is larger than the lower level and the wall behind the fridge is the only place where you can put a door without endangering the structure.”
“She’s right, Sully. I can see a plank of some sort behind. Come on.”
After pulling the fridge and removing the plank, they discovered that the hole hid a small staircase. Lance went through first. It fit one person at the time, but his large shoulders skimmed the walls. When he came back down, he agreed.
“Nobody in sight. They must all still be upstairs. And the exit is on the side of the building. I’m going to relay the information to my guys. It will be a touch and go. We hop in and we flee.”
Sully nodded at Gabrielle. “Lance goes first, then me with Alie, Luke, and you secure the back.”
“Understood.”
One by one, they went through the hole, Sully trying his best to help Alie and support her in this awkward position. One look back and he saw Gabrielle pulling back the refrigerator to hide their escape.
Muffled by the walls, he heard more gunshots and a crashing sound. They were entering the basement by now.
Lance cracked the outside door open and murmured something for his team. He turned his head toward the little troop crammed in the staircase.
“They’re coming. Be ready.”
They were ducks in a row if the intruders found the hole in the wall. Same if one ventured out and saw them exiting.
Tires screeched and there was a side door opening. Light blinded them for a minute as La
nce got out, taking position, gun out, and scanned the building. Sully half-carried Alie outside. Two men guarded the unmarked van as Lance talked to the driver. Sully sat Alie in the van, fastening her seatbelt, but before he could pull away she grabbed his hand.
“You’re coming with me. Say you’re coming with me!” Alie was almost screaming, hysteria close to the surface.
“Listen, Alie. I’m leaving you with the most capable men I have ever met, and my best friend. Even if we get separated, don’t panic. Think about your baby. Think about your family that is desperate to have you again.”
Her eyes filled with tears. “And if they hate me for what happened to me?”
Sully cupped her cheek. He knew he didn’t have time to properly reassure her, but he couldn’t leave her like that. “That’s not going to happen. And if it does, I will be there for you. Understood?”
The panic was still there, but she smiled when he winked at her.
Luke took place beside Alie. “Take care of her, Luke.” The young doctor grinned, although Sully saw he was fighting nerves.
Sully got out, and noticed that Gabrielle was crouched by the exit door opening, making sure they were not followed.
Lance turned to open the door when gunshots started firing their way. Lance’s men got in the car and closed the side door, shielding Alie and Luke. Lance had used the front door as protection before firing back. Sully leapt to protect himself against the building wall, beside Gabrielle. Through the noise, he couldn’t be understood, but he gestured for Lance to get away. His swim buddy shook his head in denial, but soon, he realized they would be trapped if they all stayed here. Lance closed the door and instructed the driver to go. There were more gunshots coming from the side of the building and peppering the armored vehicle like crazy, but they got out of range pretty quickly. Gabrielle heaved hard at his side.
“If I cannot see them, I cannot shoot them, damn it.”
“Yeah. Let’s go back inside.”
“What?”
Turning, Sully smiled at her. “Think, honey, at least we won’t be in the open and have a chance to kill them one at the time. Did they make their way behind the fridge?”
“No. Not yet.”
“Okay, so let’s go.”
Sully went into the dark staircase, followed by Gabrielle, who closed the door behind her, bolting it shut. They would know about the track, but be unable to use it.
One by one, trying to be silent, they went back down. Gabrielle hadn’t replaced the plank on its original spot so he could see a little inside the room. The door had been shattered, but no one seemed to be in it anymore. Gabrielle came closer behind him.
“There is a chance the guys upstairs may think we all fled with the van.”
“Honey, I’m hoping, but not counting on it.”
Sully started pushing the fridge and Gabrielle came out, gun drawn. She took a quick peek in the bathroom before taking position before the shattered staircase door. After he replaced the fridge, Sully went to her. No noise from upstairs. They climbed up, avoiding poor Colette, bloody and dead, staring into nothingness. The backroom had been raided, half its content on the floor. Blood spatters clashed on the white wall. Gabrielle risked a glance inside the restaurant and gave him a sign to confirm there was no one. As Gabrielle went to the kitchen, to make sure it wasn’t a trap, Sully examined their surroundings through the windows. Nobody in sight, no car, no van. The squad had left in a hurry it seemed. Probably in pursuit of Lance. If Lance was the same dangerous son of a bitch he had known, those assholes would have a nasty surprise. Lance was unquestionably the type to retaliate until only bodies remained.
They were still on full alert, but at least they were secure for a moment. Time to breathe and plan their next move.
Gabrielle came back with a plate filled with cold baked chicken, ham, bread, and cheese, carrying two bottles of water under her arm.
“Look at what I found.”
Sully’s stomach growled as she came around the counter and put the heaping plate on the bar.
“Heaven on Earth. I can barely stop myself from asking you to marry me, honey.”
“Yeah, I have that kind of effect on men.”
He sat on a stool in front of her, and put his gun on the counter before digging in. He was far from good mannered, and so was she. They both didn’t know when their next meal would be, and didn’t want to waste this one.
They were eating in silence when they heard a faint beep.
Sully froze. “What is that?”
Gabrielle was already on her feet, a piece of cheese in her hand, her gun in the other. She examined the counter. “Nothing. Maybe it is one of the appliances here in need of a battery. Or low on something.”
It beeped again. Sully turned toward the sound. Probably coming from the backroom.
Gabrielle followed suit, both waiting for another beep. When it came, Gabrielle frowned. “Ten seconds apart.”
Sully didn’t like it a bit. In his line of work, a beep could mean anything and mostly it was bad. Digging through the piles of food and house care products, they found the source of the sound. A disconnected smoke alarm. Sully was about to make a joke about both of them being a little too much on edge, when something caught his eye. Something glowing red, tossed beside napkin packages. When he pushed them aside, he cursed. A bomb. The timer glowed red, indicating less than five minutes.
“Any chance we can stop it in less than five minutes?”
Gabrielle crouched beside him and removed the cover. “I don’t know. It’s a minute/trigger kind of bomb. You can put it on time or choose to detonate it whenever. Tricky stuff to play with. Safe to simply get away.”
Then, the clock blinked and time sped up.
“Shit, they’re changing the explosion time. They accelerated it. When the timer is up, so are we.”
Sully didn’t answer, but grabbed her hand and ran. Fast. He didn’t detour to the door, but instead jumped through the window. He knew the dip would somewhat protect them from the deflagration. The glass offered minimal resistance against his shoulder. As he landed, he rolled and took Gabrielle with him. The last thing he remembered was the sound going through his body like a low hum, a ball of fire over his head and Gabrielle’s body under him.
Chapter 6
The movement of the train pulled her out of sleep once again. A train, after a plane, after three cars and two trucks. Gabrielle didn’t hold account of how many hours it took them to reach Prague from the confines of Namibia, through most of Africa and the Mediterranean Sea. Too bad the safest way of crossing so many borders was using the less efficient and less comfortable means of transportation.
Sully and she were on the last leg of their journey. To be more precise, Mr. and Mrs. Jackson were. They changed identity so many times it was hard to keep up. Mr. Jackson was currently asleep, his arms crossed, his head against the window, snoring lightly. The wagon had been mostly empty since they embarked and she was glad for it. Knowing they were alone, she could relax and only wake up if someone came through the doors.
From a distance, the train whistled in the dead of the night. They still had a few hours before dawn and she enjoyed this much deserved tranquility—this weird sense of normality that sometimes occurred in missions. She could lose herself in it, and even imagine she wasn’t on a mission anymore. What it would be like to travel like this, just for the pleasure of discovering new places, new countries?
Gabrielle shook her head and scolded her wayward mind. Why dream of something that wasn’t hers to have? She didn’t know for how long she would need to repay all the bad she did in this world, but she knew she wasn’t close to being debt free at the moment. She may never truly be.
“Try to sleep, honey. Thinking grim thoughts are no good now.”
Sully’s voice was gravely and deep with slumber. When she looked at him, he had not moved yet, not even opened his eyes.
“How can you know what I’m thinking when you’re asleep, snoring besi
de me?”
He opened his green eyes, all focused on her, as if he wasn’t asleep a moment ago. “You breathe, honey, I cannot help but notice everything about you. What’s on your mind? We’ve gone through every detail of the mission so many times, my brain hurts. It cannot possibly be that.”
Gabrielle hesitated a moment. “I was only enjoying the peace and quiet, and wondering what it would be like to travel like this, for fun.”
Sully stretched a little and brought her into his arms. “Yeah, I know the feeling, baby. And it brings you gloomy thoughts? Or maybe it’s thinking about never having such a possibility that puts clouds in your mind?”