by Lynda Filler
“Look at the Sand Hawks, Zach.” Samaar pointed to the birds of prey swirling high above them. “I really don’t know much about my heritage. I mean, you come from Israel. My parents died before I ever had this conversation. But I feel my ancestors might have come from the Middle East. Maybe even in Asia. I have a slight slope to my eyes.”
She contemplated the Hawks swirling twenty feet above their heads.
“Yet my grandparents were Jews from France. I’ve always wondered. It doesn’t add up. I know one thing, I have this affinity for the land, the sand of the Middle East, the desert. And I see Sand Hawks in my dreams.”
Zach understood her completely. The curse and the beauty of the thousands of miles of sand held a certain peace for him, too.
“I read Sand Hawks always bring a message.” Zach looked upwards. They were still flying around.
“A good or bad message—that’s always my concern,” Samaar stated.
They took a few minutes to enjoy the beauty of the world around them.
Samaar was so tired of the violence of her past. Tired of not knowing where her future would lie.
“Zach, tell me this will be the last time.”
Zach looked into Samaar’s eyes, then looked away. His recent communication from Raven made him aware of the situation between the Chinese and the US Government. Things were beginning to heat up. He’d leave it to Raven to bring Samaar up to speed.
“Let’s go, Samaar. We rendezvous in thirty minutes.”
31
MINUTES AFTER THE explosion, Maggs and RB hit the tunnel. They set the timers on their underground charges along the way. They took the Razr located at the entry of their hidden tunnel, pushed the door open, and in seven minutes they were at the base of Blackcomb Mountain. Maggs drove, RB rode shotgun. A team contact would find the machine and know where to hide it by day’s end.
They strode quickly through the village, all the while smiling while listening to skiers grumbling about the lack of visibility. They entered Blackcomb Lodge and took the elevator to underground parking. They clicked the auto unlock and waited. Their gunmetal grey SUV appeared to be untouched. Upon entry, they unpacked a hidden arsenal prepared for just such an event. “Let’s roll.”
Turning right on Blackcomb Way their vehicle slid on the ice narrowly missing a jogger coming in from the cross-country trails around Lost Lake. Maggs gunned the engine.
“Is the float plane ready?”
“Yes, they just texted me. Engines running. ETA 5 minutes to Green Lake.” RB responded. Maggs broke the speed limit racing North on Hwy 99. The small local cops were occupied at the south end of town. Cars would be arriving from Vancouver for a busy day on the slopes.
They turned right and drove along the road bordering the Jack Nicklaus Golf course, the last of the snow in the valley was almost gone. Pulling into the gravel parking area by the Clubhouse, they grabbed their bags, freshly loaded with weapons, and rushed towards the waiting company floatplane.
They boarded. The pilot gunned his engines down the lake.
Looking back Maggs spotted two black sedans pulling up behind her SUV. Six men were scrambling to get out, weapons ready. She waited a heartbeat before remotely detonating her truck.
“All’s fair in love and war.”
Circling back around the pilot set course for Seattle. Maggs and RB watched their attackers burn.
32
LUKE SOARED OVER the mountain ranges. The Pemberton Ice Fields were one of nature’s stunning natural wonders. Flying at three hundred miles an hour he barely registered the several hundred square miles of treeless terrain and the turquoise-colored lakes. On another day and in another time, he would be photographing the magnificent yet deadly vista.
“George, what do you hear from the Team?”
“Maggs and RB took off just now from Green Lake. They had unwelcome company on the way to their rendezvous. It seems their enemy’s plans went up in smoke.
“I spoke with the base. ETA thirty-five minutes. We should be fine. Nothing on the radar. Looks like Sying isn’t aware of our sweet Sikorsky. They haven’t got a chance of catching us over the Ice Fields anyways.”
“You think it was Sying? I’m keeping my options open until further analysis. Anyone heard from Zach?” Luke asked.
“No. Not since last night. He’s got Luci, and they should be meeting up with us south of the border.”
“And what about Sying Li Ma? Has she taken the bait?”
“My understanding from Maggs and RB is that she received her invite to Paris. And responded positively just before all hell broke loose in our compound.”
Luke, now over open water, raced towards the US border, all clearances were pre-approved for anyone in this particular craft. After all, it was a registered military prototype, so the only ones inside would ostensibly be US Military.
Thanks to the computer skills of RB, Raven now had top secret clearance in international airspace.
“Whether this was your work, or not, we’re coming for you Sying. You better watch your pretty little Asian ass!”
33
“WHERE ARE WE going, Zach?”
“Don’t worry Samaar. We’re meeting an old friend of yours.”
They picked up a taxi and drove south along Highway 200 away from Boca de Tomatlán and Puerto Vallarta.
“I thought we were going to the airport.”
“Hey babe, you thought wrong. I’m a SEAL remember? I hate the air. Too confining flying in a metal tin can. Be patient, we’ll be near the turnoff soon.”
The driver pulled off a half an hour later, leaving Samaar and Zach at a roadside tienda. They grabbed water and tortas to go. Zach pointed towards a dirt bike trail going west. They started to walk.
He checked his compass from time to time. After a half an hour, they turned past a vast wall of palm trees and were met by three machine guns pointed casually in their direction.
Samaar reached for her Sig just as Zach whispered “Tranquilo,” quiet.
“It’s all okay. I’m expecting these men.”
“Amigos. Bienvenidos to Mexico!”
The boss jumped down off the truck and threw his arms around Zach.
“This is my buddy, Eduardo. We met when a group of top Federales was sent to Coronado to train for ocean maneuvers. These are my friends.”
Samaar breathed easier, smiled and relaxed the hold on her weapon.
“Jump in my friends. The Marines wait for no one.”
These country lanes were not meant for trucks. They were used by the inhabitants of the small local pueblos who rode horses or donkeys. Their beasts of burden carried goods to a small population who believed in the laid-back old ways. Trucks were used by Federales or drug dealers.
After twenty minutes, they halted at the top of a picturesque seascape on the top of a cliff, one-hundred feet above the sea.
“Zach?” Samaar was confused.
“I told you. I prefer water travel.”
“But the Mexican Marines?” she laughed.
“Well, with all the work we’ve done in this country fighting the Cartels, I figured it was time their Marines help us out. We will meet up with your old friend Commander Andrews and take his mode of transportation up the coast. We’ll talk more after the Marines leave us five miles from shore.”
As safe as Samaar felt in Zach’s presence, she was always on alert. Anyone could be bought especially the Mexican Federales.
The Marines dropped a small rubber dingy with an outboard motor in the ocean miles from shore. They loaded their gear and headed out to sea. The Marines were far gone before Zach turned on his transponder to let Mike know where they were located.
Ten minutes later, the super-secret mini-sub slowly came to the surface. Samaar knew the process from her experience down south.
A few strategic knifepoints sank their craft.
Settled inside and submerged to twenty-five feet, Samaar finally relaxed.
“We’ll meet with a ship in the
Pacific and be at our destination by dinner.”
34
KATCHING KITTENS WERE having a Ball.
“Intrigue me. Touch me. Have your way with me.” Sying studied the sensual women on the website in The Kitty Box.
“Mmmm” she fingered herself while going through the portfolios of stunning Kittens. Exoticism was her flavor. She craved all things unusual and erotic mainly if there was some pain involved.
“In the relentless pursuit of female pleasure, Katching Kittens creates an electrically-charged environment where girls and couples can explore their sexuality in a sensuous yet safe and controlled way.”
Sying relaxed into the memory of a night in a New York City penthouse. A beautiful Eurasian and a Russian woman pleasured her for hours. She could barely walk, drunk on sex. Tasha had done things to her that had never been done before. She was hopelessly in lust. After that night, there was no question that Sying wanted Tasha to return to Shanghai with her.
Decadent. Raw. The pursuit of pleasure as an art form. Yes. Everyone is masked, and there is a strict set of rules—girls make these rules, and only girls can break the rules.
The Kittens were having a party in the most luxurious setting in the world. Only the sexual elite would be invited. Sying tingled in anticipation. She wouldn’t miss it for anything.
Maybe she would miss it for the opportunity to kill Luke Raven. But then there were many opportunities to get Raven; and only one Katching Kittens Ball at the Palace of Versailles in France.
“Tasha, get Versace on the phone. I need a revealing black lace gown for the Katching Kitten’s Ball at Versailles. And the mask-maker in Venice, call her as well. I want something extraordinary. Jewel encrusted, yes.”
“What about me?” Tasha purred.
“You can come also. You will be my pet. Yes, I think a diamond collar with an emerald leash would be perfect for you.”
Tasha knelt between Sying’s legs and licked her to purring satisfaction.
35
“WE NEED TO talk.” When Zach starts a conversation in this manner, Luci was sure it was business and it wouldn’t be good.
The prototype mini-sub had successfully rendezvoused and was inserted into a massive US submarine. The parent submarine was returning for routine maintenance to Naval Base Kitsap in the Pacific Northwest. By traveling in international waters using their whisper technology, they could avoid detection in any traditional local database.
“I’m listening.”
Zach watched Luci pacing in the cabin the Commander had allocated for their use on the ship.
“I told you very little about this mission.”
“Zach, you promised me.”
“Yes, I did Luci. Hear me out.”
Luci tensed.
“Do you remember much about Raven?”
“How could I forget Raven? He spent six months in our training in Tel Aviv. He was non-military. A computer geek, right?” Luci spoke softly refusing to look at Zach.
“Yes, he’d lost his wife and daughter in a diving accident in the Bahamas. I knew them very well. I thought maybe the two of you became close.”
Luci was very still. She kept her face neutral. “What makes you say that?”
“I suppose the way he looked at you when you weren’t paying attention. Kind of sad and wistful. As if he wished things could be different.”
Luci shrugged.
“He’d recently lost his family,” Luci recalled. “He was crazy intense in workouts. But not military. I was in my own world with my own demons. So how did he end up training with us?”
“Money. He’s a huge contributor to all things technical and medical in Israel. He wanted the training and said he would keep up, so we let him in.”
Lost in thought, Zach spoke. “He believes his family was murdered.”
That caught Luci’s attention.
“So, what does Raven have to do with this?”
“He’s asked for your help. He runs an empire. Special Ops that are beyond super-secret. My SEAL brothers George and Israel work with him. They were involved with the Osama Bin Laden takedown; so, they also quietly retired from the military. And Raven made them offers they couldn’t refuse.”
“And what you don’t know is another operative, Maggs, was part of the computer geek team that found Osama Bin Laden. She and RB are with Raven’s Group now. He arranged for slight adjustment of everyone’s physical features after the politicians revealed their involvement. We still call him Cowboy and sometimes Cool Hand when he gets all Paul Newman on us.”
Luci smiled.
All the pieces were coming together.
“So basically, if we don’t find how China hacked into the OPM files of the USA government, not only buddies’ lives but their families and fellow contractors, will all die. This is the worst breach of security the US government has ever had. They have to play it down in the media. But the real question is, who did it?”
“But I thought it was the Chinese.” Luci looked up, her thoughts brought back from memories of Raven.
“Yes, that’s what everyone believes. That’s where the trail leads. But Raven says it’s more complicated than that. Make no mistake about it. The USA is under attack. And Luke says he needs your help.”
36
KITSAP NAVAL BASE near Seattle, WA.
Luke closed his cell.
“Maggs and RB are meeting us here in the next twenty minutes. Zach will be arriving in less than an hour. George, Israel, any news from the team in Arizona?
“Yes. As far as we can tell, satellite transmissions were coming from downtown Shanghai. The DNA tests only tell us that the three operatives killed on Blackcomb Mountain were Asian. Not one of them was found in our data bank or in the US Intelligence database. As far as the trucks at Green Lake and Pemberton, not much left to analyze, but they appear to be rentals from Squamish of all places.” George looked at his hand-held device for more details.
“I think you can assume this attack was private. My guess goes to Sying.”
“It looks like we’re on the right track. This means part of our operation has been compromised. Warn the other locations. We can’t take any chances. I don’t want any physical breaches. And I don’t want any casualties.”
“Already on it Cowboy.” Israel closed down his iPad.
“I think Sying is getting close. As long as we are on alert at all locations, I think we’ve got her where we want her. She’s confident that she has the upper hand. Now we need to fine-tune our mission.”
RB and Maggs entered the safe room. Top secret materials and counter-satellite measures, designed by Luke for the US Navy, made Kitsap Naval Base one of the safest places on earth.
“Hi Guys, that was some escape. Close. But we made it.
“And like Hansel and Gretel, Sying took the bait and followed the crumbs exactly the way we wanted her to.” The group smiled, RB laughed. “Expensive crumbs I might add. What did it cost to build our Blackcomb digs?”
“I’ll bill the US government, no worries.”
“And now my friends, we know exactly who and how to follow-back.”
Luke was proud of his team.
“Who wants Starbucks coffee? Then let’s get to work.”
He’d lost fifty million dollars in real estate and electronics. He would bill the United States government even though Luke Raven could pay it out of his own pocket. It would take many lifetimes to spend the fortune he’d acquired.
37
LUKE WAS INTERRUPTED by an abrupt knock on the door.
He greeted Zach with a man-hug and turned to Samaar. Many years had passed since they’d last spent time together. It was too soon after the death of Lily and Amy. Otherwise, his attraction to Samaar had been urgent and physical. Blushing beneath his rugged, tanned face, he welcomed her into their ops center.
Samaar remembered Luke’s boyish charm and his piercing blue/grey eyes. She recalled a lot about him. She leaned into his warm embrace.
“Samaar,
thank you for joining us.” Luke beamed.
The team watched the sparks fly between Luke and Samaar nudging each other, smirking like high school boys.
“Hey boss, you never told us how hot Samaar was!”
“Cut it out. I’d watch myself if I were you. You can call her Samaar if you like but when she’s operational as her code-name, Luci, watch your butt! If you think I can beat your ass at Krav Maga, this woman invented the killing game.”
The boys laughed and looked forward to the games of endurance they played with each other. Luci added a whole new dimension.
“I would like you to meet Maggs.” A tall, muscular red-head nodded in Samaar’s direction. “So, you won’t be the lone female on the team.” The women nodded towards each other. “And RB, Israel and George, are the boys ogling you like horny teenagers!”
“Nice icebreaker Luke.” Israel laughed.
“Israel, bring Luci up to speed with where we’re at.”
“Luci. Pleased to meet you. Your reputation is legendary, although I thought you were dead!” Only highly trained Spec. Ops people joked about their deaths.
“RB has found a pathway to Sying.” RB nodded.
“We now know she’s responsible for the hack into the OPM. She has millions of names; hundreds of millions of pieces of data to separate and unravel. This is what I learned today. Her plan is simple. She has put the information out for bids. Not only does she want to destroy the U.S. but she is after us, and Luke particularly.”
“Why Luke?” Luci questioned, studying the man she had once found herself falling for, and maybe even loved.
“I think it has to do with our Caltech days. I spotted Sying when I lectured there. She was brilliant—no, is brilliant. I could see something inside of her that she wanted to remain hidden. This may sound crazy, but I could sense evil in her. She had ulterior motives for taking courses at Caltech, and she displayed no moral compass—the profile of a psychopath. I kept her on my radar, but at one point, I lost her.”