Brandt passed her. “I’ll handle this.”
Really? Her husband was pretty awesome, but somehow waving off the US Army when they were flying stolen drones?
Rebecca was a more than a little worried.
* * *
Bunny felt a warm liquid drip down her neck. It didn’t feel like blood. It was the venom. Probably from some super toxic Amazonian snake.
They had checked for anything metallic that could be a gun, but they hadn’t counted on the shaman’s necklace being a weapon. Which, looking back, duh.
Bunny glanced over to Stark, who God love him, seemed to be a deer caught in the headlights. His mother wasn’t much better. And the lingerie model? She was gone, just gone. She probably ran off to do something more lingerie-y.
And Rojas? He had retreated to the corner of the attic. The guy, for the first time, seemed to understand whom he had aligned himself with. The professor didn’t seem to realize exactly how far religious zealots would go when pushed to the wall. These quests always ended in blood.
Always.
Would it be hers?
That was still to be seen.
“Bunny,” Stark groaned. He sounded as helpless as he looked.
“They are out,” Stark’s mother stated.
“Get them on the line,” the shaman, who was suddenly quite well versed in English, demanded.
“I’m trying,” Stark’s mother replied.
Bunny’s eyes sought the main screen that showed the team’s progress. They had exited the mountain on the other side, but had problems of their own. They were facing an entire Army base of hostility.
She doubted anyone was going to answer a hail from the attic.
No, it was going to come down to her getting herself out of this. Which didn’t look any too likely at the moment. For a scrawny little guy, the shaman was strong. Like zealot strong.
If she moved even an inch, she felt the tip of the alligator tooth dig into her skin. If that venom got into her bloodstream. Bunny seriously doubted if she would be alive to hit the floor.
Didn’t the shaman get that she wanted to know what they found under the Tabernacle as much as he did?
By the way he pressed that tooth against her jugular vein, he didn’t seem to care.
* * *
Stark willed his muscles to do something, anything. But he wasn’t Davidson. This wasn’t his wheelhouse. Physical altercations. What really paralyzed him was worrying if he did do something and that effort got Bunny killed.
He couldn’t have that on his conscience.
“Bunny,” he moaned again.
His mother tried a different tactic. “Let’s give this five minutes, then reassess.”
The shaman seemed past reasoning with. He had that crazed look in his eyes. Stark had seen it before. Of course not in person, but on the monitor. The guy was about to make some really, really, really bad decisions.
Bunny was being so brave. Not even a peep out of her. He could tell by the way her eyes flicked back and forth she was trying to figure out how to escape. But how could she?
And if Stark or his mother made any move, the shaman would see them and could do the dastardly deed before they could get to him.
That was it. No more visitors to the attic.
Then there was a flash of red behind Bunny. Rojas went to say something, but after a blow to his throat, he was down. Another flash and Cama was behind the shaman.
“Let her go,” Cama growled in a very non-lingerie model voice. Her hand covered the shaman’s which held the alligator tooth. Her skin all milky white over his dark hand. They struggled for a moment, then Cama brought a knife to his throat. “It may not be as exotic a death, but I assure you it will be death.”
The shaman looked like he might let Bunny go, then Stark watched the man’s arm muscles bunch. He was still going for Bunny.
Then a flash of a silver blade and a bright red spray of arterial blood. The man’s arm fell away as Bunny stumbled forward. Stark caught her before she fell to the floor.
His mother helped lift Bunny’s chin to make sure the shaman hadn’t nicked her.
Stark looked up to find the shaman clutching at his neck, but there was no staunching that kind of blood loss, he slipped to his knees, then slumped to the ground leaving Cama standing there. Her bright green dress drenched in blood.
Who the hell was this chick?
* * *
“Babe, what are you doing?” Rebecca asked as Brandt got ready to face the music.
“Trust me,” Brandt replied.
She searched his eyes. “Do it,” she finally said.
After everything they had been through, they had developed a bit of trust between them.
“I just don’t want to have to raise this child on my own.”
Brandt had no intention of dying or being arrested. How to wiggle out of this little mess was a bit of a challenge, but he felt up to it.
He separated off from his team and flew to the command vehicle. A four star General exited his Jeep, raising a hand to the rest of his men to stand down.
Brandt, slightly more awkwardly than he might have liked, landed his drone and saluted the General.
“You are in a boatload of trouble, son,” the older man, General Tumwater rumbled.
“That I know, sir,” Brandt replied, happy to have a friendly face in front of him.
“Son, I don’t know whether to give you a big ole shiny medal or arrest your ass.”
Brandt smiled at his old mentor. “I don’t need a medal, sir, but I would like to be off the terrorist watch list.”
There was a moment of dead silence, like there was no one else in the world but the two of them. Brandt was certain that the general was under orders to arrest Brandt and his team. Would he follow through on his duty or would their personal relationship alter that course?
Tumwater pulled Brandt into a warm embrace, clapping him on the back. “I think that can be arranged.
Brandt turned back to his team, waving them in.
Ki dumped Cristoval on the ground in front of the general.
Brandt pointed to the cultist. “Now there, there is your terrorist.”
Tumwater looked the man over. “He’s the one that orchestrated the Lithuanian embassy takeover?”
“Yep, and a whole hell of other international crimes.”
“We’ll take care of him,” Tumwater rumbled. He would have a head to give to his superiors. “And her?”
The general indicated to Bridget.
Brandt really should turn her in. She had been involved in the embassy takeover and all that followed, but he just couldn’t. If they could turn Davidson around, they could turn Bridget around as well.
“She’s family,” Brandt answered.
By now Rebecca had joined him. She slipped her hand into his and gave a reassuring squeeze.
“I hear that you all need a ride to DC ASAP?” the general asked.
“We’d love one, sir,” Brandt answered.
So, there was going to be a happy ending to this quest after all.
EPILOGUE
Davidson hurried down the hospital hallway. They had come straight here from the airport, not even stopping by the attic. Besides, Bunny and the rest were supposed to be here anyway. His fiancée had sworn that she was fine after the shaman attack, but Davidson wanted to see it for himself.
He caught a glimpse of red hair down the hallway.
Running, he called out, “Bunny?”
The figure turned around. It was not Bunny. Not by a mile.
“Here!” a voice called from down a side hallway. Davidson pivoted to find his love running toward him. He opened his arms and caught her, burying his face deeply into her hair, breathing in everything Bunny.
“You’re okay then?”
“I told you, I am fine,” Bunny stated back. “And as much as I hate to admit it, I have her to thank for it,” Bunny finished, backing out of the way to point to the other redhead.
Then
Davidson knew where he knew her from. He’d seen her picture on Brandt’s desk. “Lieutenant Camaron Czerny?”
The woman nodded. “At your service.”
Bunny’s eyes dilated. “I thought she was a lingerie model?”
The lieutenant chuckled. “I was undercover for CID. Tracking a drug-dealing photographer. When I learned Alpha Tango had a mission running in DC, I thought why not join the team a little early?”
Bunny went from shock to upset. “You’re joining Alpha Tango?”
“As of Monday, I am their fifth utility officer,” the lieutenant stated.
Davidson hugged Bunny. She’d had enough of a shock for the day.
* * *
Brandt trotted down the hallway with Lopez, heading to Maria’s room. Rebecca had felt a little cramping and gone to see an ER doctor downstairs, while they greeted Lopez’s new baby girl into the world.
Lopez’s mother was outside the room, rubbing her rosary beads.
“Momma, is something wrong?”
His mother didn’t answer, she just looked up, then away.
Lopez pushed past his mother and burst into the hospital room. Brandt was right behind him. Had something happened to, God forbid, Maria or the baby?
But it wasn’t anything like that. A perfectly healthy Maria held a perfectly healthy baby girl. The only problem? The girl was a dark, dark, black.
This child was no child of Lopez’s.
“What the hell, Maria?” Lopez demanded. Although it didn’t seem he was all that mad the child had another father. No, his distress was about something altogether different. “You let me think I was ‘one shot’ all this time? Damn woman, that was cold.”
Brandt looked over to Lopez. “See how it feels?” Lopez shot a glare over to Brandt. “What? Too soon?”
Lopez waved Brandt’s words away.
“Well, Maria? What do you have to say for yourself?”
“It’s your boy’s,” Maria said, kissing the baby on the forehead.
“What do you…? Wait…” Lopez stammered, taking a step back. “Are you telling me that is Levont’s baby?”
Lopez’s mother stepped into the room as silence filled the cramped quarters. Brandt was braced for a lot of things. Levont had been Lopez’s best friend before it was revealed he was a mole and killed in action. How was Lopez going to react to this kind of betrayal? Such a deep, personal betrayal?
“Don’t lie to me, Maria,” Lopez warned.
“I’m not. It is Levont’s,” Maria stated firmly.
Brandt was braced to intervene if necessary, as Lopez threw his hands up in the air.
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner? We’ve got a living, breathing piece of Levont?” Lopez burst into tears. “That’s my baby, V.” He leaned over, kissing the little girl all over her bald little head. “You’re going to know everything about your Daddy, V. He was the best of men.”
Brandt backed up quietly, not wanting to disturb this very private family moment. Lopez’s mother leaned in as well, kissing the baby, Maria, and their son.
They all had the oddest arrangement, but it worked for them, so Brandt wasn’t going to argue with their family dynamic.
He backed out of the room to find Rebecca waiting for him.
* * *
“What’s going on?” Rebecca asked. It was interesting at the least, if she’d read Brandt’s expression correctly.
“The baby is actually Levont’s,” Brandt explained.
“And Lopez is happy about it, I would guess?” Rebecca offered.
“Over the moon,” Brandt replied.
Rebecca smiled, hugging her husband. There was no doubt Lopez would love that baby like his very own. Possibly even more.
“Everything okay?” Brandt asked, putting a hand on Rebecca’s belly.
“Well…” Ugh. How to tell him?
“Did you lose it?”
Rebecca backed away a step to explain. “It turns out there was nothing to lose.”
Brandt cocked his head.
“It was a home pregnancy false positive. It is rare, but it happens,” Rebecca stated.
“So you were never pregnant?” Brandt asked.
“I’m so sorry. No, I wasn’t,” Rebecca apologized.
Brandt pulled her in for a hug and stroked her hair. “Well, this must be a relief for you.”
Rebecca pulled back from his embrace to look into her husband’s eyes. “Well…actually I was thinking…”
Brandt pulled her close again. “Thinking?”
“I don’t know. I think we should start trying.”
Brandt’s expression burst into joy as he picked her up. “God, I love you.”
She squeezed him back as hard as he was squeezing her. “I know.”
Despite all the concern and danger, it was time to expand the Alpha Tango family by at least one more.
CLASH – the bridge short story between Heresy and Foretold
CHAPTER 1
Up ahead along the long stone hallway, Ki’s hand flew up, clenching into a fist.
The entire team, including Brandt, froze in their tracks. Lopez and Cama ahead of him. Ki pointed to his ear. The point man had heard something.
Brandt cocked his head. There was a distant noise. It was hard to tell how far away since they were in a centuries-old castle. These walls were thick.
But Brandt recognized the sound. He was used to hearing it at home. It was the sound of children laughing.
“Stark…” Brandt growled into his mic.
They were supposed to be in the super-secret lair of a man financing terrorists all around the world. There weren’t supposed to be any children in attendance.
“Working on it,” Stark said. “We don’t exactly have a satellite right over Spa town in the Czech republic.”
Brandt wasn’t even sure exactly where they were. That was their IT guy’s job. It was also his job to make sure that there were no children involved in a black op.
Ki looked over his shoulder at Brandt. He shook his head. They had to hold tight until they figured out how badly they were screwed. Pretty screwed Brandt figured, but he’d like to know the exact figure before he made up his mind to scuttle the mission.
There was chatter about a terrorist attack tomorrow, possibly in the US. Philippe Von Hintenburg was rumored to have financed it. They couldn’t find any other lead so here the team was standing in one of the back halls of the Spa Town castle in the Czech Republic.
The US State Department couldn’t convince the Czechs to raid the place. These international, tiptoe, diplomatic channels were usually useless to Brandt. All this aimless negotiation had wasted nearly an entire day.
Luckily Brandt had gotten them in the air as soon as he knew about the problem. He didn’t bother waiting for activation. They were sitting over in Stuttgart, Germany, cooling their heels until the CIA finally got permission to send in a rendition team.
Alpha Tango of course.
But now they were stalled, waiting to find out what the hell kids were doing in this ancient castle. What were kids doing here anyway? Brandt felt like maybe Dracula had lived here once. The walls were covered in thick tapestries representing one Czech battle or another. Blood was a pretty common theme.
“It is Philippe’s niece’s birthday party,” Stark said breathlessly in Brandt’s ear.
“Birthday party?” Brandt growled back. He was not happy and he wanted Stark to know about it in no uncertain terms.
“Sorry. I knew about it, but the party was scheduled to take place at a princess palace play place in the city, but they had to close early due to fire alarm being pulled by a child.”
Seriously a top-secret black op mission was going to be de-railed by a snot-nosed kiddy party? On the scale of stupid reasons for an op to go sideways, this had to rate a ten.
“I’m trying to figure out a work-around,” Stark said. “Another route to Philippe’s office.”
“Is he still in there?” Brandt asked. After all his niece and Ph
ilippe’s sister were in the main dining hall. The very hall they had thought to cross to get to the back of the castle, undetected.
“I believe so,” Stark said. “He still has quite a bit of internet activity going on in the back office.”
Well, there was that.
“We need a distraction?” Lopez whispered.
Brandt cocked his head. He wasn’t quite sure if he liked where Lopez was going.
“I have a great idea,” Lopez stated quietly.
Nope, Brandt was now absolutely positive he wasn’t going to like the idea. Not if it came from an excited Lopez.
* * *
Davidson watched the back of the castle as Lopez explained his idea. Like most times, Davidson was glad he was up high in a perch, away from Lopez and his plans.
Now it came down to Brandt. Would he authorize the crazy plan?
The only other option was to abort and retreat. And how would they feel in the morning if say Chicago or Toronto was hit and they had a chance to stop it tonight? Lopez’s crazy plan sounded a whole hell of a lot less crazy under those circumstances.
Brandt didn’t announce his decision per se. He didn’t have to. “Switch to non-lethals. I don’t want any children killed, are we clear?”
A chorus of “yes, sirs” filled the line along with the sound of weapons being switched out.
“Me too, sir?” Davidson asked.
There was a brief pause then Brandt answered. “Stay live, but if any kids head out the back, switch out.”
“Yes, sir.” Even after all this time, Davidson still felt a warmth in his chest when his commanding officer trusted him enough not to kill just anyone coming out the back door. Brandt trusted him to show discretion.
Davidson swept the area again with his scope. It was pretty quiet. It wouldn’t last though. The guards were due to start their security sweep any minute. Brandt and the others had to get a move on with Lopez’s crazed plan before the guards swept the back halls.
Keeping a part of his mind in the game, Davidson switched to a private line. “Babe?”
“Yes, Samuel?” Bunny responded.
She only used his first name when she was exceptionally happy with him or extraordinarily angry at him. He was glad it seemed to be the former this time.
The 3rd Cycle of the Betrayed Series Collection: Extremely Controversial Historical Thrillers (Betrayed Series Boxed set) Page 45