Covert Operations

by Sara Schoen

  A loud cry of pain brought me out of my thoughts. I turned to see Camden holding his hand as Danielle turned and landed a hard blow to his face with her elbow. She turned to look at me with confusion in her eyes. “Why are you standing there? Save Sara! She’s saved me before, and now it’s time I pay her back.”

  The remaining members I had left standing rushed toward Danielle. Camden must have told them to keep Danielle close and safe. Otherwise they should have been rushing to stop me. I tried to move toward Sara, but once again I hesitated. If I managed to get Sara out of here, Danielle would have to fight for herself, and I knew she wouldn’t last. Sara had the training, but Danielle didn’t. I didn’t think Camden would hurt her because he claimed to love her, but I couldn’t be sure. I knew he would kill Sara if I didn’t act.

  My head started to spin again, brought back into focus by the gunshot fired close by. I needed to find Danielle.

  Chapter 29

  I raced off to where I had seen Camden pull Danielle, most likely to get her out of the way, but I couldn’t find them. I looked around until I spotted him on the far side of the room with his father, waiting for me to make my move. I turned to approach them when another shot went off. I turned around to look toward the sound; the chair Sara had once been in was now empty and I couldn’t find her. Another shot went off and I turned to see Gage glancing around wildly. Following his gaze, I saw Sara darting through the factory, behind boxes and using the leftover equipment to dodge the bullets and conceal herself from view. No wonder they recruited her. She had skill; if she trained she could become a weapon.

  She danced around the equipment easily as bullets ripped through and bounced off everything around her. Gage was aiming to kill, but she managed to move just out of his range each time. I could see the growing frustration on his face. She was difficult to keep track of, and I soon lost sight of her completely. I could only imagine where she had gone and how she would strike now that she could hide just out of sight.

  “I should have killed you instead of letting you suffer,” he screamed, regretting his choice to let her have a chance to escape. He must not have thought her injuries would allow her to get away. She had chosen the right moment, and swiftly and effectively moved until she could be completely concealed in the shadows, just like Demon had done earlier. She must be a fast learner.

  Gage was frantically trying to find her. With every move she made, an accompanying screech of metal, tumble of boxes, or racing footsteps followed soon after. Giving a hint, but not direct confirmation to her location. He blindly took aim, his shots bouncing off the metal equipment and piercing nothing more than the dust she left behind.

  “I’m more skilled than you give me credit for,” Sara taunted, her voice bouncing off the walls. “I’m insulted that you didn’t think I could escape. They must not have showed you how I evaded the cartel back in Sandtown, or what I do to people who harm me and threaten my family.” At the end of her sentence, all I saw was the glint of a knife as it sped forward and landed in Gage’s chest.

  A moment of silence fell around us as he glanced down at the blade that had pierced him. The blood began slowly pooling around the wound, and then dripping down his shirt. He fell to his knees and tentatively touched the handle of the knife to determine if he could remove it. He took the handle in his grip, deciding one knife wound wasn’t enough to take him down, and apparently Sara agreed. Another one flew out of a different direction, surprising us both since we hadn’t heard her move, and pierced his gut.

  I turned away from the sight and focused on Miguel and Camden. I stepped forward with the knife I had taken earlier in the fight and went after them. Camden released Danielle, as if he would fight me, but instead stepped back just in time for other cartel members to swarm into the factory. When Miguel came to a fight, he knew to bring back-up.

  Sara and I were severely outnumbered. No matter how well we fought, it would be a fifteen to one ratio at best, and no way of telling how many other men Miguel had ordered along and were waiting outside for their turn to come in and fight.

  “Find the girl, and finish her. Don’t try to grab her again. If you have a shot, kill her,” Miguel ordered. Then he jabbed his finger in Danielle’s direction. “And someone take her outside and keep her safe. I still need a daughter-in-law after this is finished because I’m retiring once these agents are dead.”

  I heard a scoff echo through the factory, and knew Sara had heard the orders. The members who were ordered to hunt Sara walked off in search of her, not realizing how dangerous she could be. Miguel’s men shouldn’t have worried about where she’d gone, but how she planned to kill them.

  “I’m going to make sure Marco has learned his lesson. When it comes to traitors, no one is above the ruling of death,” Miguel said. A few men stepped forward with him, but he waved them back. “I will handle him alone. He won’t be a problem. Find the girl and the other agents. I know they are here somewhere.”

  I smiled, thankful I hadn’t shown everything I had learned over the years in the first fight. Miguel, while older, had remained in shape and could expertly fight, but he had no idea what he was up against. I took my fighting stance and waved for him to come toward me. The smirk on his face vanished, replaced with disdain and annoyance.

  I heard Camo’s familiar laugh from somewhere in the factory as if she had been watching the ensuing fight, and the accompanying ouch that told me Spit Fire was here as well. She clearly didn’t like Camo giving away their position, but it brought relief to know they were here as well. Even if they were here just to make sure Sara didn’t kill me by accident. The men Miguel ordered to find the CIRA agents rushed off toward Camo’s laugh. I didn’t hear anything, but after watching Sara’s brief fight, I knew she could move without being heard unless she wanted to. Which left me in a stand-off with Miguel and Camden. I wasn’t certain Camden would be ready for a fight.

  He had never fought a day in his life. He had guards, like me, do it for him, and judging from the way he had his back pressed against the wall, he didn’t want to start today. So Miguel stepped forward to face me himself. He probably believed he had to handle it since they had let me rise so far through the ranks, witnessing their secrets and dealings. I had to pay the ultimate price, no matter what it took from him.

  “When I finish with you, I’m going to hunt down your girlfriend, who I hear you’re quite fond of, and these friends of yours, and then I’m going to kill them all,” Miguel said, hesitating long enough to make sure it sank in before continuing. “And it will be all your fault. As for your sister, we are going to keep her around to make sure she doesn’t start talking about what happened here. She will be under constant surveillance, and with us for the rest of her life, but don’t worry…she’ll have Camden to watch out for her where her brother failed to.”

  Without a second thought, I lunged at him and brought him down to the ground. Anger boiled through my veins knowing that he would keep my sister captive. Whether Camden just wanted an easy marriage in order to take over, whether his bride had been forced here or not, or whether he wanted to bait me in the fight…I didn’t know and didn’t care anymore. Even if he did leave her, they would kill her for sure. I wouldn’t let that happened, not if I had a fighting chance to stop him.

  He landed a few blows, but I had the advantage since I had landed on top of him. It just didn’t last long. Camden tackled me out of nowhere, and while I hadn’t expected a fair fight, I had expected a respectful one. Camden placed a knife to my throat before I managed to knock him off. The knife left his hands, and I sprinted for it before Miguel stopped in front of me. He pulled his arm back, and I took a page out of Sara’s handbook.

  I ducked behind a few boxes, and managed to vanish from his sight long enough to get the advantage again. I took my time, letting him wonder where I had gone as I picked up the knife I had dropped earlier in the fight. We were playing cat and mouse, and I knew it wasn’t going to last long as gunshots started firing. I immediate
ly fell into a crouch as my attention jerked around the factory where I saw Sara and Camo running in separate directions. The few men remaining were chasing them, separating themselves and making them easier to pick off. If only I had a gun, I could end this right now.

  Too bad the other cartel members were the only ones with firearms, and when I turned around, one of them pointed a gun right at me.

  With my attention diverted, Camden had managed to find me. He held the gun to my head and ordered me up. I reluctantly followed the order, and the moment I stood up he landed a blow straight to my nose. I could feel the pain swelling, but my focus remained on his weapon.

  “Goodbye, Marco,” Camden said. “It was a pleasure working with you.”

  I held up my hands, trying to find the best way out of this situation, but not finding it quickly enough. He would shoot before I could get out of the way. Glancing behind him, I spotted Sara a moment before she grabbed the gun from Camden’s grasp. She placed one of the bloody knives, which she must have pulled out of Gage, to his throat. She leaned in and whispered something into his ear, but I couldn’t make it out because the second she leaned in, the glass around us shattered.

  A sudden pain raced up my side, taking my breath away. I glanced at the knife embedded in my flesh, the blood dripping down before I turned to see Miguel pointing a gun at me. He waited for me to make a move so he could take care of me, and then kill Sara before she could take Camden’s life. There were gunshots firing wildly around us. I wasn’t sure who was shooting, but Miguel looked away for a second and I took my chance. I lunged at him and knocked the gun out of his hand, holding him down before slowly sliding the knife out of my side. If it hit anything important, it would make the bleeding worse, but moving with it still inside me would have caused more damage. It was a lose-lose situation, much like this fight.

  We threw punches, both lunging toward the gun whenever possible, but the fight had gone nowhere. I had managed to place the blade to his throat, intent on cutting him open and letting him suffer, but a close gunshot and a loud cry took me out of the fight. I glanced around until I saw Sara on the ground, her blood dripping on the floor. She had been shot, and it looked bad. One man stepped forward, ready to end her, and before I could move to help her, Miguel landed a blow and knocked me off him. It would be a fair fight for us both, because the knife had fallen too far to reach.

  I dodged a few of Miguel’s punches as I tried to keep a watchful eye on Sara. I had seen her collapse as the cartel member raised his gun for the final shot. I landed a hard blow to Miguel as a man with dark brown hair leapt down from above and shot the man threatening to kill Sara. He covered Sara as best as he could and ordered others around as the guns continued to go off. It looked like the agency had managed to find a few more agents to spare for this mission. Thank God, because the fight would have been lost without them.

  Miguel landed a hard hit, forcing my attention off what happened next with Sara and back onto our fight. I had become vaguely aware of the other agents swarming in, and following the other agent’s orders. Most took care of the back-up Miguel had brought with him. A few agents picked up the ones we had killed, but most were focused on finishing this fight for good.

  Shots went off one by one, but none of them were aimed toward us. We each looked bloody, and exhausted, but someone had to win. I watched as Miguel looked toward his gun, and without a moment of hesitation lunged for it. I tried to move behind the equipment, but he managed to fire a shot, grazing my shoulder. The pain erupted once the skin was open, and I fell down behind the cover of the boxes, hoping for a few moments to recover, but they didn’t come.

  Miguel appeared and held the gun to my head. “It was a good fight, Marco…or should I say Jackson? Either way, I won’t lose any sleep over it.”

  There was another gunshot, but it wasn’t Miguel’s doing. He collapsed and fell to the ground in a heap with a hole in his back. I looked around frantically, hoping they hadn’t been trying to hit me when I saw an agent with dark brown hair approaching me.

  He helped me up. “The fight is over, Renegade.”

  I looked around the factory and saw that most of the higher members of the cartel had been killed in the firefight, leaving only two of the six who’d been here to greet me alive, and their leader dead. While Camden had survived, I knew he wouldn’t be taking over anytime soon, or ever for that matter. Every agent looked as pleased as the one who’d helped me walked out. I stepped forward to go after him, but the agent stopped me.

  “It’s done, Renegade. You have more important things to worry about than Camden. You did a good job.”

  “Thanks.” I paused, waiting for him to give me his name so I could thank him properly, but he had something else he wanted to discuss.

  “You don’t need to know my name yet. I’m curious what your intentions are with my niece,” he said with a smirk as he led me out of the building.

  “Niece?”

  “Yeah, you know, my niece…otherwise known as your girlfriend,” he said in a mocking tone. He must have heard Miguel taunting me, and now I’d never hear the end of it from CIRA agents, either. “I heard you took her flowers in the hospital. That was sweet.”

  “I’m going to kill Demon,” I said as we slipped out of the building, and I immediately went to find him.

  Chapter 30

  “Renegade, it’s nice to officially meet you. I’m Fire Fox, and I’ll be working with you while you’re at CIRA.” He handed me a roll of gauze and bandages before pointing to my wound. “You’ll want to tape that up for the time being. You may end up getting stitches but we can stop the bleeding at least. We have a lot to cover before they start sending people to the hospital. We have to see who’s in the roughest shape, and who can wait a little longer so we don’t flood a hospital and start raising more questions. I know you’ve been out of the agency for a while and since then it’s changed immensely. It’s going to take a while,” he warned as we weaved in and out of the throng of agents outside. I was searching for one person in particular while listening to Fire Fox and using bandages he had given me to tend to my wound. “Once we get back to the agency, I become your mentor. You’ll spend days you aren’t on missions with me, training and honing your skills.” I was about to tell him that I didn’t want one, but he once again read my thoughts and silenced me. “Everyone has a mentor, so deal with it. You got lucky with me.” He paused, turning to see my questioning gaze.

  “How so?”

  “I requested to be your mentor because I know your background and history. I’m not going to train you unless you want me to, but if you want to train with someone, I’m more than capable of being a worthy opponent. Mostly, I just want to be there in case you have any questions.”

  I had a lot of questions, but most of them began and ended with whatever Sara had to tell me.

  As if he could read my mind, Fire Fox spoke up again. “Give her some space after this mission.” I considered ignoring him until he continued. “Her parents died in a car crash, with her behind the wheel,” he said, describing what she’d told me in the hospital. Her story hadn’t been a complete lie after all. “She will need to come to terms with who you are before she tells you her full story,” he said, explaining a dark night in her past that ended with one survivor—Sara. “She’d been driving, and the rain wouldn’t let up. The police stated the car hydroplaned and she lost control. The deaths were ruled accidental, but the real story is that they had been targeted. A car had come at them head on and Sara tried to avoid it, but she’d lost control, and lost her family.” Fire Fox glanced at me, I assume to make sure I was listening. “You want answers, but getting them from someone who’s hurting will only make it worse for the both of you.”

  She hadn’t lied to me about her story. They had told her not to use her real life experience but she chose to in order to make it believable. It worked, but it shocked me that she’d been so honest with Danielle and me. It was risky to say the least, as Fire Fox pointed out.<
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  “She’s always risky, but I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Fire Fox said. “I got lucky when it came to her, and she was able to find someone to care for her over the years. They are the only reason she’s still alive. If James Ricker hadn’t been going home at that time, I would have lost all of them at once.” Fire Fox looked through the crowd nervously, as if fearful of who would be listening in.

  “How do you know the details if she hasn’t talked to you about it?” I asked curiously.

  “Demon told me. He was also the one who found out who caused the accident,” he said as we walked past Camden. They were shuffling him out of the way. Fire Fox scoffed as Camden tried to pull free to talk to me. I looked away, hoping someone would kill him in prison.

  Fire Fox continued as we walked through the crowd. “He kept an eye on her for me, and told me everything about her. I know her as if she is my own daughter now.”

  “How much does she talk about the accident?”

  “Not much anymore. She just tells people that it was an accident, and tries to move on. Her discussions have become focused on the Rickers now. They are all she talks about now, about their love and acceptance, their support through everything, and the family that became hers. I know it hurt her to leave them behind, but she’s happier here. She’ll live instead of just survive.”

  Before I could ask him if Sara ever figured out who caused the accident, to confirm what I had learned from Camden’s research, a few agents pulled Fire Fox aside. They wanted to discuss how to call in the authorities before they arrived on their own and found the large amount of missing or assumed dead people CIRA had hidden away over the years, and started asking questions. I waited nearby, thinking. Sara’s story sounded very familiar, too familiar, and while Fire Fox hadn’t said Ash Crest caused her accident as well, I had a feeling I knew who killed him. If I was right, Sara killed Ash Crest. He had left another survivor, one member of that family alive, and he lived to regret it when it came to her.