by D. K. Hood
“Eight. None inside.”
As the smell of gunpowder drifted toward him in a cloud, Dave remained in his calm place. He had all the time in the world and recalibrated his rifle and took aim. The distance was an easy shot for him. The only problem was reloading his rifle. The phut as each bullet left the muzzle and flew through the air to the targets made hardly a sound. He counted the hits, and pressed his com. “All targets down. Are we clear?”
“Copy that. You’re clear to go. There are locals running into the street. It must be the cleanup crew. I suggest you head out of Dodge. Your bounty has just gone through the roof.”
Dave smiled as he stripped down his rifle and stowed it in his backpack. “Copy that. I’ll go get my ride and the package. We’re leaving tonight. The scuttlebutt on the street says there’s something big going down in the next twenty-four and as soon as the militia discover I’ve neutralized their home base, it’s going to get hot here real fast. I’ll head for the border now. Follow my progress. We’ll need an evac ASAP.”
“Copy that. Stay safe out there.”
Dave headed down the steps and vanished into the night. “I intend to.”
Chapter Seventeen
The new safe house was a dump. Annie sat on a rickety chair, with the Glock resting on her thigh, staring at the door. Her heart missed a beat with every sound and there were many. People seemed to be close by and she could hear low voices through the walls. It was as if everyone was hiding. A woman had arrived before Dave had left. She’d said nothing but left a pot of the hot sweet yellow coffee, bread, and cheese. They’d eaten everything and then after checking his watch, Dave had left. Since then, she hadn’t moved.
When a knock came on the door, heart pounding, she aimed her weapon, holding it high with both hands. She could hear men’s voices, low and conspiratorial. Terror had her by the throat but she kept her hands steady with the gun aimed chest high. Footsteps moved away but she heard a scratching on the wall beside the door.
“Annie.” Dave’s voice was just above a whisper but she recognized it. “Time to go. Unlock the door, I’m alone.”
Relieved but not stupid, she hurried to the door, unlocked it, and stood to one side, Glock at the ready, just in case. The door swung open and Dave peeked around it and smiled at her. She lowered her weapon and hugged him close. “Thank God you’re safe.”
“Thank God you’re cautious.” Dave smiled down at her and nuzzled her neck.
Annie reluctantly dropped her arms and handed him the Glock. “I was worried sick about you.”
“That would be a first.” Dave gave her a long look. “I kinda like that someone cares about me.” He moved the bags to the door. “If you need to use the bathroom, go now. I’m not planning on stopping until we cross the border.”
Annie rubbed her sore back. “Are you tying your backpack onto me again?”
“Yeah, sorry. It’s just in case we meet a roadblock. But we’ll be moving fast without headlights once we leave the town.” He twirled his fingers. “It won’t be so heavy. I’ll carry most of the ammo, but we’ll need to hide the US bills as well.”
Annie frowned at him. “What about the drugs? There’s no way I’m carrying them through customs.” She pulled off her dress and he fitted the backpack.
“We won’t be going through customs. We’ll have an uncomfortable ride in whatever military vehicle is available but I’ll take charge of the backpack. Once we land, we’ll be straight into debriefings. They’ll want to make sure you haven’t been corrupted. The brick of drugs is what I’m using to pay for our vehicle. I’m not taking it back to the States.” Dave tightened the straps. “I know this is heavy but you’ll be in the vehicle most of the time. We may have to sprint to the chopper, but I’ll carry you if necessary.”
Annie grabbed her dress and pulled it over her head, surprised when he helped her. She adjusted her burka and met his gaze. “Thanks. Do you need anything before we go? The yellow coffee is lukewarm. I covered the pot to keep it warm for you.”
“Yeah, it will help to keep me awake.” He pulled the towel from the pot and drank down the fluid and dropped the empty pot onto the table. He dressed hurriedly in his long robes and head covering and then looked her over. “Okay, let’s go. Farid said he’d be here in five and it’s way past that now. We’ll need to move fast before they find out I took out the militia.” He picked up the bags and slung them over one shoulder. “Stay close.”
Terrified at what might happen next, Annie hurried behind him down the stairs, trying to keep from toppling forward under the weight of the backpack strapped to the front of her. She gripped the handrail but underfoot the way was rough and loose pebbles slid under her boots. Dave moved in silence, not even his boots crunched on the gravel as they reached the sidewalk. She couldn’t see the vehicle pulling up to the curb as Dave had his entire body blocking her from view. After a rapid exchange in Arabic, Dave handed over the drugs. She assumed by the jangle it was in exchange for a set of keys. She came out from behind him and his fingers closed around her arm as he propelled her toward a battered four-by-four. Bullet holes riddled one side but she noticed two gas cans in the back and what looked like a plastic container carrying about two gallons of water. She climbed inside, holding the backpack, and dropping the weight between her legs before stretching the seatbelt around her and clipping it in place.
“Hold on to anything you can find.” Dave slid in behind the wheel and they took off at full speed. He didn’t take his eyes off the road as he handed her a map and flashlight. “You’re the navigator. Take the map, the route is marked, the cross is where we are now. Only use the flashlight in short bursts when checking the map. We don’t need to be seen.” He glanced at her as she stared at the map. “Turn it the other way up. You can read a map, can’t you?”
Annie’s face grew hot. She’d always relied on her GPS or phone. “I’ll do my best but everything is in Arabic.”
“Roads are roads, crossroads the same.” Dave glanced at the map and made a sharp left turn and headed down a long narrow road. He dug a finger into the map. “This is the road we’re on now, follow the red pen line, tell me to turn left or right at the intersections. Got it? Count the roads ahead of the next turn. So, say, in five blocks, tell me to turn left. Understand?”
Wishing he’d just keep his eyes on the road, Annie gripped on to the seat with one hand and stared at the map. Looking ahead as side roads flashed past, too fast to keep count, she gave up on that idea as a bad joke and glanced at him. “Right turn next intersection, then a sharp left, go through a town square, and then straight ahead.”
“Copy.” Dave slammed his foot on the gas and the truck sped through the night. “Once we get out of the town, I’ll use my night goggles and kill the lights. I’ll be able to see fine. I know there’s only one or two main highways to the border. I’ll be in contact with my handler and he’ll be guiding me from there.” He flashed her a white smile. “You’re doing fine.”
They dashed through the town square and the truck bumped and slid on the gravel as they made the turns. Heart in her mouth and her fingers white-knuckling the seat, she waited until they hit the straightaway and glanced again at the map. “This road veers to the left up ahead. You’ll need to slow down to make a left, then straight ahead and another left. We go under a bridge, then there’s a straight run out of suburbia. From there it’s just one road as far as I can make out.”
“Copy that.” Dave changed gears up and down, braking hard and then taking off, leaving a shower of dust and rocks behind them.
As they raced through mostly ruins, she noticed a few low-burning lights but it seemed most of the people were either hiding or in bed asleep. As they left the town behind them, Dave pulled on his night-vision goggles and killed the lights. Annie gripped the seat and side of the truck so hard her hands ached. She could hardly make out Dave’s outline in the dark, but she could see his jaw set in concentration and his eyes fixed on the road. He was fearless and they sp
ed into the black night like a rocket through space.
The bumps in the road scared the life out of her. The truck would hit a pothole and buck and slide, throwing her this way and that, but somehow, Dave kept the vehicle on the road. He said nothing, his concentration taken up with driving. Mile after mile of blackness flashed by. She could see the stars, so close she could almost touch them, but out here was barren sandy soil and nothing for miles and miles. She’d listened with interest to the conversation between Dave and a contact he called Terabyte. She understood the need for code names and from Dave’s limited side of the conversation, she gained nothing, as his replies were no more than “copy.” So after an hour’s silence, Dave’s voice surprised her.
“What did you do at the embassy?” Dave flicked her a glance.
Annie smiled at him. “If I told you, I’d have to kill you.” She watched his mouth twitch at the corners. “That’s the correct reply, isn’t it?’
“Let me rephrase that.” Dave swerved to avoid a pothole in the road. “What are you planning on doing when you return home? When all this is over, I’d like to come and visit you. If you want me to?”
Annie tried to relax her aching jaw to ease the pain. She’d been grinding her teeth the entire trip. “I’d like that. I worked at the embassy to get wider experience, but I applied for a position as a secretary to a family court magistrate in DC, and I’ll be able to start there in a month or so. His current secretary is leaving as she’s expecting a baby. She has three kids already and wants to devote more time to her family.” She sighed. “She’s a friend of the family and recommended me. I have an undergraduate degree in family law and plan to return to my studies. This position offers me that chance.” She turned to look at him. “What about you?”
“I go where they send me.” Dave shrugged. “I don’t have the option of making choices at the moment. I’m hoping in a few months maybe I’ll be offered a desk job.” He snorted. “I won’t be happy behind a desk but it beats being out here.”
“It must be lonely out there.” Annie frowned. “I do have some idea of the life of a sniper. Why did you pick that area of expertise? You must have known how dangerous it would be.”
“Someone has to do it and I’m damn good at what I do. I can’t say that I get lonely because I’m never really alone.” Dave shrugged. “There’s always someone in my ear.” He cleared his throat. “Like now.” He pressed his ear and listened for a few moments. “Copy.” He glanced at her. “Hide these.”
Fear gripped her as Dave ripped off his night-vision goggles and tossed them to her. She lifted her dress and slid them into his backpack. When he flicked on the headlights as the road ahead rounded a huge hill, she noticed the tic in the nerve in his cheek. Something was terribly wrong. “What is it?”
“There’s a patrol just up ahead. They’ll be the first line of militia guarding the border. It’s only a mile or so from here.” He pulled out his sidearm and rested it on his knee under his robe. “Have the Glock ready. I’ll say you’re in labor and they might allow us to pass. We don’t have any papers. If they order us out of the vehicle, we’ll have to fight. If we survive, the chopper is standing by just over the border and will risk an evac once we deal with the militia.”
Fingers trembling, Annie pulled the Glock from the pocket in her dress, chambered a bullet, and held it under the folds of her dress beside her on the seat. They rounded the corner. Across the road two trucks blocked the way and as they approached five men appeared in the headlights. Beside her, Dave seemed to relax, the opposite to her, and calmly pressed his earpiece concealed under his headgear.
“I see five, is that all…? Copy.” Dave turned to look at her as the car slowed. “Moaning is good, and clutching your belly. You know the deal, right?” He wet his lips. “If it all goes to hell, I’ll take them out.”
Annie gaped at him. “Five of them? Have you lost your mind?”
“Well, you can help if you like but you’ll probably get yourself killed by drawing their fire.” He slowed the truck. “Eyes down, don’t look at these guys or we’re dead for sure.”
Rigid with fear, Annie moaned and held her belly, leaning forward in the seat helped to keep her eyes covered. Beside her, Dave waved his arms and from his tone, he was ordering the men to allow them to pass. The men moved closer and peered inside. They must have been demanding papers because they raised their weapons. Dave slid from behind the wheel, arguing all the time and then one of the men walked up to the vehicle and pulled open her door. One of his hands went around her arm and another stroked her thigh. Without a second thought, Annie lifted the Glock to his face.
The sound of the weapon discharging deafened her. Rapid gunfire came from beside her and she turned as Dave shot two of the men and then ducked behind the truck. The other two men scattered, taking up positions behind their vehicles, and bullets pinged off the metal all around her. She ducked down, lying across the seats as the windshield smashed, and a bullet thudded into the seat beside her head. Keeping low, she slid out of the vehicle, stepped over the dead man, and headed back to where Dave was returning fire. Over the noise she could hear him talking and then the whoop whoop of a chopper came from above. Bright lights searched the area and the chopper’s guns fired a thousand bullets into the militia truck, but the men still returned fire.
“Run to the chopper, Annie.” Dave was beside her. “I’ll be right behind you.”
Terrified, Annie ran. The weight of the heavy bag didn’t register. Adrenalin was pumping so fast through her veins she’d turned into a superhero. Bullets zinged past her and just as Dave lifted her and threw her into the chopper, something grazed her cheek. He fell in the door and landed on top of her, pinning her to the floor. Wind buffeted around them. The sides of the chopper had no doors, just big gaping holes. The next moment Dave rolled off her and a navy Seal dragged her into a seat and strapped her in. Annie couldn’t hear a thing. The ringing in her ears and the noise of the chopper cut out everything. She stared at Dave, but he just lay on his back on the floor breathing heavily as the chopper gained height. Hands trembling, she glanced down, realizing she was still clinging to the Glock and gaped at the blood splattering her clothes. She closed her eyes, trying to block out the flashes of what had happened. It was as if her mind needed to relive each terrible moment. I killed a man.
The trip was short and they soon landed on a runway. She made out US military uniforms and started to breathe again. They’d made it to Turkey and the next stop would be home. Outside the chopper Dave pulled off his disguise, and Annie gasped in horror at his blood-soaked shirt as they ran to the open door of a massive military aircraft. Inside stood a row of large boxes covered by nets. The smell of a machinery warehouse engulfed her. The engine roared into life, vibrating through the plane. To her left, a few men in uniform sat on uncomfortable-looking seats against the wall. She mouthed to him, “Are you okay?” but he just urged her into a seat and strapped her in. As the huge door closed and the aircraft took to the sky, she turned to look at him and pointed to his chest. “You’re bleeding.”
“I’m okay. It’s a through-and-through.” After the plane evened out, he unbuckled his restraint and then hers. He offered her his hand. “I’ll need my backpack. I’ll help you out of the dress. You’re well covered and those men wouldn’t dare to look at you.” He pulled her to her feet and had the backpack removed and a blanket wrapped around her in seconds. “I’ll go grab a med kit.” He wandered off deep into the plane.
The men strapped in a few seats down started mumbling under their breath but sat eyes front when Dave returned sometime later in a clean shirt. Annie noticed he’d replaced his rank pins in his collar.
“Remove the burka. You have blood on you too. Is any of it yours?” Dave dropped another blanket to her and unclasped her harness. He hunched down beside her and narrowed his gaze. “It looks like the bullet went through me and grazed your chin.” He opened the med kit and went to work cleaning her up. “It will be fine.” He
pressed a dressing to her chin. “A doctor will check it when we land.”
Horrified, Annie gaped at the blood seeping through the shoulder of his shirt and couldn’t imagine the pain he was suffering. “What about you? You’re still bleeding.”
“I’ll be fine.” Dave frowned at her as if surprised by her concern. “One of the guys fixed me up.”
Annie sat back down and fastened the harness. As realization dawned on her, she turned to him. “You took a bullet for me and saved my life. How can I ever repay you?”
“Just doing my job.” Dave looked at her. “But I’ll take the coffee you offered to buy me, next time I’m in town.”
“I’ll look forward to it and I’ll be waiting.” Taken aback by the sudden flash of his smile, Annie leaned closer and kissed him. When he kissed her back, everything inside her melted. She sighed when he broke the kiss and leaned back. “How will I find you? I don’t even know your name.”
“I’ll find you, I promise.” Dave touched her cheek.
She couldn’t lose him, not after all they’d been through. “What happens now?”
“For me? A darn lot of paperwork and debriefing. As soon as the wound has healed, they’ll send me back in.” He leaned back and closed his eyes. “Get some shut-eye. It’s going to be a long time before we touch down. Don’t worry, they’ll let your dad know you’re safe. He’ll be waiting for you when we arrive.”
Annie leaned back but her gaze rested on him, the handsome stranger who’d risked his life to save her countless times. He could be killed on his next mission and she’d never know what happened to him. Heck, she didn’t even know his real name.
Chapter Eighteen