by Sara Schoen
“Yes, but the point is—”
“The point is that she can now do her job, and you don’t have to worry about her. You can spend the time she spends wherever my sister is getting the plane ready to depart, or making sure Natasha is with me before we leave. Let her do her job, you focus on getting everyone out of here.” Katya slammed her book shut, signaling that she had made her point and was done with the discussion. “Night Stripe can do this. Trust her.”
She got up, heading to the back bedroom that she and I shared, to rest. Even with the blinds closed I knew that it was late at night. Demon and I had barely left the table, only moving to go to the bathroom and for food, for the whole day. Last night we fell asleep with our heads on the table, and didn’t wake up until Katya came out and shook us awake. It had been a long planning session, all culminating in a what if scenario. Tomorrow Seeker would contact us with where Natasha was and no matter what, I’d go get her.
“Well, Sara, if something goes wrong, and as you say, something will always go wrong, I hope you’re prepared to handle it.”
“If something didn’t go wrong, then it wouldn’t be any fun.” Demon cast me a serious gaze to tell me I needed to stop playing around. “I’ll be fine, Demon. You worry too much. I will be prepared for either scenario, and I’ll make sure Natasha makes it back to Katya safely.” I smiled at him, to which he only offered a curt nod before he turned to walk to the couch. I felt a knot tighten in my stomach; I knew I would come to regret those words. Whether I lived or not on a mission would always be a question in the back of my mind. Each mission held new possibilities and with it new ways to die. This one seemed to have the odds stacked against me.
Chapter 19
“Get up,” Demon ordered as he shook me roughly, waking me up from the only restful sleep I’d gotten since we first came to this frigid area. I was even having a peaceful dream instead of a terrorizing nightmare.
When I didn’t move right away, he shook me again. This time he physically pushed me off the bed onto the hard wooden surface below. I cringed as my body made contact with the floor and small ripples of pain raced through me. Luckily, I put my hands out first, preventing my head from pounding onto the floor and most likely giving me a concussion. I wasn’t sure what Demon was thinking, but injuring me before a mission didn’t seem like a smart plan. He knew better, which told me something was very wrong.
“What was that for?” I cried, pushing up from the floor and brushing the dust off my clothes. “Was that really necessary?”
“We have a problem. We need to get moving.” His voice was dark, low, and skating on the edge of fury and annoyance. It sent chills through me because when Demon sounded like this, it meant we were in for hell. He had the same tone before sending me into a speeding car for the Cardoza mission. I only found out later that it was because the cartel had been looking for me. He was worried they’d figure out who I was, and they did eventually; just a little too late for them.
“What happened? Did something change?” I asked, feeling a familiar alertness come over me; paranoia. It kept spies alive, but when accompanied with fear it had the power to get us killed if we weren’t careful. Paranoia made us cautious, fear caused mistakes.
“Someone found our base back in Gorod,” Demon explained as he turned to wake up Katya. “It’s only a matter of time before they find this one too. We need to get moving, and I mean now. Not ten minutes from now.”
“What about Natasha?” I asked as I quickly pulled together everything I had brought with me and tossed it into my bag. I could wait to figure out how someone found our first hideout later. Demon might not even know, and there were more pressing matters at hand. A life was still on the line.
“She’s been taken to the compound with Volodya today,” he said as Katya stirred. “They’re onto us. I think you got seen with your stunt in the compound the other day and now they’re preparing for it.”
A scoff left my throat before I could stop it. “No one saw me, and I’m insulted that you would even insinuate that I risked the mission.”
“No one else has left this building, Night Stripe.” His voice lowered slightly as the anger took over his features. “I’m not blaming you, I don’t think it’s entirely your fault, either. So don’t get upset just because you think I’m saying you’re bad at your job. You did what you could with what you had. This could have gone a lot worse.”
“What do you mean it’s not entirely my fault?”
Demon stopped, glancing at Katya, who had gotten up to start packing. She wouldn’t question Demon’s orders. She knew that she had forced herself into this, and now she’d have to listen as I did. “What if Natasha said something? We couldn’t watch her the last few days, but she’s seen her father every day. What if she let it slip that Katya was here, or that someone had come by? What if she is as brainwashed as Katya says, and she told him so you could go in and get yourself killed?”
A chill raced down my spine. While I had considered the possibility, I never would have said it out loud with Katya in the room. She turned to Demon with a gaze that showed betrayal and anger. If looks could kill, I’d be alone for the duration of this mission.
“She wouldn’t have given anything away. I made sure she knew I gave her the note, and she would never betray me like that. She wouldn’t risk my life for anything. She knows what happens to people like that,” Katya said, letting a darkness take over her voice as she spoke.
“I’m not saying that she did,” Demon said, holding his hands up in a surrendering position. “I’m saying it’s a possibility. How else do you think they found our base in Gorod, or why they took your sister with them today, the same day they raided the other hideout?”
“I can’t speak for your hideout, but you may want to look at your informant.” She looked at me with sympathy in her eyes. It confused me until she further explained. “I think Seeker, while nice enough to give Night Stripe a ride home the other day, used her to keep in my father’s good graces. I’m sure he knows the old bases, and if he didn’t, then he could have gotten it from Night Stripe. He chose the one you weren’t living in so you could have a chance to get out, and hopefully live. As for my sister, if my father thinks someone came to save her, then he’s using her as bait for me. He’s planning to get rid of us both, then the job will be done and he can move on.” Katya barely blinked as she spoke, as if unaffected by her own words. It shook me how calm she sounded; she expected this. “We need to save her.”
“We don’t know if that’s why he took Natasha today,” Demon stated, picking up both our bags and walking out of the room. “But we don’t have time to figure that out. While I’m hoping Seeker gave the information, I know better than that.” He didn’t sound as if he was insulting Katya’s idea, just that he knew Seeker, and knew he wouldn’t risk another agent’s life. “Someone else gave the information on us, and we have to move before they show up here. Your father probably took Natasha with him in case they found something and needed to make sure she was with him instead of a liability. For now we get out of here, alive.”
“How do you suppose we do that?” I questioned as he walked toward the front door. “Three people walking around with bags is a little suspicious, and I’m sure someone will recognize Katya.”
Demon smiled at me as he put the bags down close to the door. He turned and came back to the table, shaking a pair of keys in my face. “That’s why we have a car hidden away for us. A friend of ours across the street knows what’s going on, and gave me the keys to a spare car.”
“Seeker?” I asked with a knowing smile. “That’s how you know it wasn’t him.”
“He’s the one who called to alert me. The news came as a shock to him as well. As for Natasha,” Demon stated, looking over the map of the compound once again. “We’ll take you to the compound and you can go in and retrieve her. I’d take this route if at all possible.”
I followed his finger as he led me through the path of least resistance to the main
part of the compound. From there, I could find Natasha. Since we weren’t sure exactly where she would be, I’d have to lay low until I could figure it out and then move her safely. The guard sweeps would be the issue. There were just too many men, and no way of knowing exactly where they were going. One wrong move and I’d be a goner, but when wasn’t that the case when it came to missions?
“You have to be careful,” Demon warned. “There are a lot of people moving through the building at all times. If you ask me, it’s too dangerous, and you shouldn’t be going. I should be hailing Maverick right now for an emergency pick up.”
“You can’t do that!” Katya cried. “You promised to rescue her. You went through all this trouble, and now you’re going to leave her here?”
“I didn’t say that,” Demon replied easily, his gaze never leaving mine. “I know Night Stripe wouldn’t leave without her. I’m just explaining to her that it won’t be easy.”
“When is it ever?” I questioned, letting the sarcasm come clean through my words. “I’m not expecting a walk through the park, I’m expecting a fight.”
Demon’s gaze turned hard, but he nodded. “For now, we get out of here, and we get somewhere they won’t come looking for us.” He glanced between us, unmoving and determined to get us to listen.
I thought I was in charge of this mission.
Demon had a natural ability to lead, and in hard times no matter how much experience I had, I knew I’d always turn to him. His leadership and direction had gotten me out of dangerous spots before, and I knew they would do it again. I just had to be patient whether I agreed with his directions or not.
“We’ll go right into their backyard and set you up with a place to be, Night Stripe. As for you, Katya,” he glanced at her, casting a gaze that was serious instead of love struck and timid as he had been lately with her. Hard times called for hard people, and Demon knew it as much as I did. Love and relationships had little room in this business. “You’re staying with me the entire time and if it gets too messy or someone finds us, we leave. I won’t hear you argue, you won’t try to bargain with me, or escape to save your sister. My job is to save you; Night Stripe’s is to save Natasha. Let us do our jobs, and maybe we can get out of this without any more problems.”
Katya nodded to say she heard and understood. His words must have weighed heavily on her because as he turned away her gaze fell to the floor and I could have sworn I saw a single tear slip down her cheek. I felt awful. It was hard to hear that someone you loved may not be saved, especially family. I didn’t like that I couldn’t save my family after the car accident, or that I couldn’t save my adoptive family from the pain I caused by my disappearance. It was never easy, and I hated every second of it. Whether she liked it or not, though, didn’t matter. What mattered was her safety, as well as her sister’s, just as it did for my adoptive family. I had chosen this job to keep them safe, just as Katya had tagged along to make sure her sister was safe. I’d make sure they both made it out alive.
“Don’t just stand there. Let’s go,” Demon called before he walked out the door and shut it behind him.
I took a few steps to follow after him, determined to get out of here before someone came knocking on our door, but Katya stopped me in my tracks.
“You said that you would treat Natasha as your own sister.”
“I did,” I replied, uncertain where this conversation was going.
“I didn’t realize what that meant at the time,” she admitted, and while I wasn’t facing her, I knew she appreciated what I was about to do. “Please, come back safe.”
I turned back to her, smiling. “Don’t worry about me. I’ve gotten out of worse situations, and I’ll do it again. Just remember, this time, you take my lead, not the other way around. I don’t care what happens, follow the orders I give, and follow them to the letter. I didn’t come all this way, risk losing you and your sister, only to have you decide to play hero. You’ve gotten your way more than you should have; now I’m in charge.” I saw Katya nod before I lightly pushed her to the door. I wasn’t sure how much time we had left, but I didn’t want to get held up by whoever found our last base. Unfortunately, they would have to wait to meet me at the compound, and they’d regret ever risking my friends’ lives.
Chapter 20
Seeker had taken us to a different location to organize ourselves a little before heading to the compound. After the first two bases were found and compromised, we had to take shelter in a recently obtained hiding place. I hoped that it would keep whoever was on our tail off us for a little bit longer. Since we didn’t know this one existed until Sharp Shooter told us where to go, we hoped whoever knew about the others wouldn’t find this one. I had a suspicion I knew who revealed our hiding spots; I just wasn’t sure how Camden could know about them.
Either way, for now we had to play a waiting game. We wanted to give Volodya a false sense of security. To let them venture between the known hideouts and discover nothing. Maybe they would think we left, or their information was faulty, but we needed a moment to collect our thoughts and let Volodya’s men wind down a little bit. I didn’t want to race into the compound with them on high alert and get caught behind their line. The new hideout would give us a few minutes to prepare and collect ourselves after the scare this morning. It would also give Demon and Katya a place to lay low in case things went haywire at the compound and they had to race out before I could get back. Seeker had said he would remain close to us, in case we needed him, but I knew Demon didn’t like that idea.
“You should go back to your house,” Demon said as he pushed the topic on Seeker to remain undercover. We didn’t want his cover blowing up and somehow getting back to Volodya before we could finish our mission. One agent was enough to have on Volodya’s list, we didn’t need another. “You shouldn’t be seen with us anymore than needed. I’ll take care of both of them, and then we can head back on Maverick’s plane together. It will seem less suspicious that way, and maybe we can all make it out of here.”
“No,” Seeker replied, brushing off Demon’s words as if they meant nothing to him. “I’ll be staying close by, hidden from view, to take you back to the plane myself. Sharp Shooter ordered it, and I follow orders just like you do, Demon. Stop arguing about it and take it at face value. I’m coming whether you like it or not.”
“Why would Sharp Shooter risk harming your cover to help us? That doesn’t make any sense.” I swiped the pieces of hair out of my face as I waited for Seeker to answer. He only offered a soft smile before replying.
“He thinks you’re all too emotionally involved in each other. I’m just here to make sure you do what you’re supposed to do in these cases and nothing else. I’ve already gotten word to Maverick that this is going to have to be a quick pick up and return trip. He’ll be here in ten hours, so you have until eight tonight to get Natasha and get yourselves to the pick up point. But let me make this point very clear, I will not wait. Once most of you have returned, and I have both girls, I’m leaving. We aren’t going to get caught with both daughters, and we certainly aren’t staying longer than needed. In other words, you know the rules—don’t fall behind.”
His words struck a chord, silencing everyone in the room, as he looked at each of us, taking the time to take in our expressions, and to make sure we understood the terms. We knew better than to fall behind, and since neither Demon nor Katya were coming with me, I knew the statement had been made specifically for me. I guess Demon had talked to him, or maybe he somehow heard about Mexico. I had a habit of getting left behind for one reason or another, but sometimes it couldn’t be avoided. It became just another part of my job, but normally someone came back for me even if it was against orders.
“I understand,” I replied. “I’ll keep the timing in mind once we start moving. For now, I’ll start planning a tentative route to take until I can find Natasha and get us out.”
“Glad to hear it. Now, finalize some kind of plan with each other. We leave in fif
teen minutes. I’m going to get in contact with Spit Fire to see if she’s gotten anything out of Camden yet, and tell her the latest update.” Seeker turned away and proceeded to call Spit Fire so he could prepare for the trip back home. He had been here for months. I was sure he couldn’t wait to leave the barren area and cold temperatures behind for a little recuperation back at the agency. I know I would be. Maybe that was why he insisted on coming with us. He wanted to be on the first plane out of here.
“Come here, Night Stripe.”
I followed Demon’s order with hesitation and approached him. I took one last glance at Seeker, who remained tense while on the phone with his mentee, before taking a seat next to Demon on the floor. Once again the map of the compound had been laid out before us. I knew we couldn’t plan my exact path through the building, but the more I looked at it the better chance I had of remembering it when it came time to race through it. I knew the best route to take into the compound so I could look for Natasha almost unobstructed and well hidden from view. For now I’d take it.
“This is where I’ll meet you if things get messy. I’ll meet you here and take Natasha and you with me. So stay close, but not right behind me if possible. We want a little space in case they’re expecting multiple people. Our goal is to get both girls out of here safely, and that’s just what we will do.” His finger was placed over a room on the first floor in the back of the building. It had a window he could easily break to retrieve Natasha and I. It seemed to be as good a place as any.
“I shouldn’t have a problem getting her there, but what if I do?”