Tactical Rescue

by Maggie K. Black

  “Then you’ll disappear off the grid, to another undisclosed location, for an indefinite amount of time,” Rebecca said.

  There was a question in her eyes. A question he didn’t know how to answer.

  “Yes, I will. That’s exactly what I’ll do.” He shook his head. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Becs. Do you think I won’t miss you? Do you think I want to say goodbye to you? Do you think I haven’t lain awake at night over the past twenty years and wished I had you to come home to? But you know who I am, and you know what my job is. I’m a sergeant in the Armed Forces. I’m not going to take a desk job while I’m still young enough and strong enough to be out in the world fighting the battles that need to be fought.”

  Her shoulders rose and fell, and it felt as if a sigh had moved through her body into his.

  “I never once told you I wanted you to give up a life in the military,” she said. “Not once. I’m proud of you, Zack. I’m proud of what you do.”

  “Okay, well, I don’t want you to spend your life sitting around waiting for me to come home,” he said. “I don’t want you to be unhappy. I don’t want you to have to go through life feeling like every minute of every day the person you care about most is far away and out of reach. I know that feeling. I lived that feeling. That’s how I felt about you every day, watching you across the gym. I felt that pain every day for weeks and months and years after we said goodbye. You were the slowest-closing wound I ever felt.”

  “But you were wrong.” She pulled away. “I wasn’t out of reach. I loved you, Zack. I wanted to be with you. But you didn’t love who you were, so you pushed me away without even giving me a chance to try to be with you.” Her arms crossed in front of her chest. “Just like you’re pushing me away now.”

  He opened his mouth, but the blare of a horn froze his words on his lips. He looked up over the top of Rebecca’s head. A beautiful black luxury truck was pulling down the driveway. It stopped. An elderly man got out, in full military uniform, with trimmed white hair and a smart white moustache. Zack let go of Rebecca and snapped to attention. Every inch of his body pulled up with the same sign of respect he’d shown men and women superiors for the past twenty years.

  “At ease, Sergeant,” a voice boomed. “It is Sergeant Zachary Keats I assume?”

  Rebecca gasped. Her face grew pale before she’d even turned to see who was now standing behind her.

  “Yes sir,” Zack said. “It’s an honor to finally meet you, General Miles.”

  FIFTEEN

  “Rebecca!” the General’s voice sounded. “What a pleasure it is to see you again.”

  She turned slowly to face her stepfather, like someone trapped in a nightmare they couldn’t wake up from, as every word and image from Seth’s blog slowly filtered through her mind. She watched as he shook Zack’s hand. Then his hand reached out to shake hers. She let him take it, feeling the tension rippling up her arm and into her shoulder, as his hand clasped hers.

  You hurt my mother. You hurt Seth. You fathered a brilliant young woman on the other side of the ocean, who ended up in an orphanage and in the hands of Black Talon. And you denied her existence just like you tried to deny mine. And now, because being a rotten husband and father isn’t a crime and nobody can prove how badly you treated my brother, you’re going to get away with it, and become a senator.

  She opened her mouth, but no words came out, as she realized in that moment that she was no longer afraid of the imposing man who’d walked into her life at thirteen and taken it over. She was very, very angry.

  But Zack had both saluted him and stood at attention at his approach. Even at ease, Zack’s shoulders were high and his back was straight, and she realized that for the first time she was truly seeing him as what he was—a soldier facing a superior officer.

  “What are you doing here, sir?” Zack asked. His tone was deferential and there was a very slight nod to his head as he spoke.

  “I heard about the military operation and that Rebecca was involved.” General Miles folded his arms. “This whole situation has been quite upsetting, to say the least. Thankfully, I just got word that my son is safe and with police. But I wanted to make sure Rebecca was all right.”

  So, he’d come for Seth, but since Seth was with police he would settle for her? Or had he come to make sure all his wayward children were under control?

  The General had waved a hand in the direction of the nearest group of uniformed men. Three ran over, with that steady gait that practically blared respect. The General led them over to the back of the truck and was instructing them to get something down.

  It was only then that she saw the motorcycle—the General’s vintage Triumph from World War Two. The same one Zack had admired through the window of their garage as a teenager. The one that Seth hadn’t even dared touch. The General clasped a firm hand on Zack’s shoulder. “I heard through the grapevine that you were a motorcycle enthusiast.”

  “Yes, sir.” Zack’s eyes scanned the bike as if it was a fresh puzzle to solve.

  But Rebecca knew instantly what it was doing here.

  “Consider this a little thank-you gift.” The General steered Zack toward the bike. “I’m too old for a toy like this. It’s about time it was passed down to someone who could appreciate its history and tradition.”

  “A gift.” Zack’s words were stilted. “That’s beyond generous, sir.”

  A bribe. The General was actually trying to bribe Zack for his silence and cooperation. Like he’d probably bribed people all his life to keep his secrets.

  “A token,” the General said, “in gratitude for all you’ve done in the past twenty-four hours to resolve this situation swiftly. I’ve heard great things about you, soldier, and will be watching your career closely. I trust I’ll be pleased with what I’ll be seeing from you in the future.” Then he turned to Rebecca. “Now, if you’d like to say your goodbyes to the good sergeant, I think it’s time I take you home.”

  “Home?” Rebecca’s voice sounded so strained it was like a rubber band ready to snap. The camper that had been her home was now lost, washed down to the bottom of a river.

  “Sorry, I meant my home, in Ottawa.” The General smiled. He turned to Zack. “You see, my wife and I have a small guesthouse in the back. We would be happy to help Rebecca find her feet.”

  “No, thank you.” Rebecca crossed her arms, mirroring his. “I appreciate your very kind offer. But I’ll be fine.”

  The General frowned.

  “Rebecca.” Zack’s hand landed on her shoulder. His voice was firm, with a ring of authority she’d never heard before. “I think it’s a wonderful thing that General Miles has offered to give you a ride back to his home in Ottawa. I hope you agree. Trust me. This could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you.”

  He picked up the faded green bag and slid it over her shoulder. Then Zack turned to the General. “Rebecca is the strongest person I know. She’s been through a lot, and I think her greatest challenges are lying ahead. But trust me, she’s got this.”

  She looked down at the faded, worn fabric, holding the few supplies they’d saved from her camper as it was sinking. She took a deep breath and looked up into Zack’s face. The smile on Zack’s face was as easygoing as it had always been. “You sure about this, Zack?”

  You honestly think I should be going back to the home of this monster in sheep’s clothing?

  His eyes met hers, his gaze steady as steel. Then he took her hand and pressed it firmly against the bag, so she could feel the hard, smooth edge of her tiny video recorder inside. “Absolutely, trust me. This mission is all yours.”

  “Okay, I trust you.” She leaned forward. Her lips slid across his cheek.

  His hand brushed the base of her spine. “I’ll have your back.”

  She turned and followed the General to his truck,
feeling her heart beat with every move. Zack, I hope you know what you’re doing.

  A man in fatigues materialized to open the passenger door. She got in. The door shut firmly. The door lock clicked. The General pulled out onto the road. His lips pressed together in a straight line. The vehicle filled with the same cold, resentful silence she’d felt emanating from him since the first day she’d walked into his home. They reached a rural highway. Endless trees blurred past them. The empty road lay behind them.

  “When we get to Ottawa, you’ll meet with my lawyer and sign a nondisclosure agreement,” the General said, without even looking at her. “You will then enter a ninety-day treatment program, at my expense and at a facility of my choosing. When you complete the program successfully, I’ll give you a monthly stipend allowance, based on certain criteria being met.”

  So now he was going to pay her off, too. Like he’d tried to pay off her mother.

  “I’ve never actually used drugs or alcohol,” she said. “But you probably don’t even care about that and just figured this would be a handy way of getting rid of me. You can probably find a facility that won’t care, either, as long as you pay the bills.”

  He didn’t even flinch and just continued talking as if she hadn’t even spoken.

  “You will not speak to members of the media or others without clearance. Ever. That includes any discussion of my family—”

  “You mean our family,” she cut him off. “Because according to my mother, you are my biological father, and I don’t doubt that’s the truth. I’m thinking you didn’t care about her at all, until Seth’s mother was gone and social services was threatening to take Seth from your home for abuse and neglect, so you quickly married my mother so that it would look like Seth had a stable home life and to keep your reputation intact. But by then you’d already terrorized Seth so badly he grew up to hate you and found his own way to fight back. Until finally he met our half sister Maria who created the decryption program he could use to expose you. I can’t imagine how frightened you must have been, discovering some child you’d fathered in Europe, who’d been abandoned to an orphanage, was in Canada talking to Seth.”

  Again, the General didn’t answer. He just gripped the steering wheel with huge pale hands. The highway was still empty behind her. Prayers poured silently through her heart. Her fingers brushed the green bag Zack had handed her. She could feel the tiny video camera she’d salvaged from her camper whirring quietly, recording nothing but a man driving in silence. Why did Zack think she could do this? She’d never been good at knowing the right words to say. Seth had been the one able to bait people into saying things. Not her. And the silent treatment had always been their father’s weapon of choice.

  “Seth is never going to stop fighting you,” she said. Maybe she wouldn’t get the confession she needed. Maybe all of this was for nothing and she wouldn’t be able to stop him. But at least, for once, someone would be standing up to him. “Because his mother is gone and he’ll never stop looking for her, or for other siblings like Maria scattered around the world in all the places you traveled.”

  His jaw clenched. “You will never speak to my son again.”

  “My brother!” She could feel her voice growing stronger. “Whether you like it or not, Seth is my brother, and I’m not going to turn my back on him, no matter how much you try to bribe me, like you tried to bribe my mother. I’ll be doing everything in my power to help him and Maria expose who you are to the world. A man who bullied the women who loved him, disowned the children he made, who hurt the son who looked up to him, all while hiding behind a uniform he had no right wearing.”

  His hand flew into her face, so quickly the slap caught her in the jaw and knocked her head back against the seat. Then he reached into his jacket and pulled out a handgun. He placed it on his lap, one hand gripping the butt.

  “We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” he said, “but you will do what you are told, exactly as you’re told, or you will die, and trust me, your body will never be found. Just like Seth will never find his mother’s body, no matter how hard and long he looks for her. I have friends, and my friends will take care of you. They’ve taken care of more than one problem for me, and I have no problem adding you to that list. I don’t tolerate failures.”

  Pain filled her head. Stars filled her eyes. Clarity filled her mind as Seth’s words echoed in her memory.

  He sent criminals after my sister!

  “By friends, you mean Black Talon, don’t you?” She pressed her lips together and tasted blood. “You’re the military leak who’s been supplying a foreign criminal group with weapons and supplies. Not because you believed in their cause. But because you needed someone to do your dirty work, like taking care of Seth’s mother and Maria. You’re the one who helped them get into the country illegally and who fed them the information they needed to find and capture Maria, and intercept her communications with Seth. He was right about you. You are a monster.”

  The General swung to slap her again. But this time she was ready. Her hand shot up, blocking his blow. Her other hand smashed him hard in the face. The truck swerved wildly. Her seat belt snapped her back against the seat. The truck swerved again, then screeched to a stop.

  The General grabbed the gun and aimed it at her face with one hand. With the other he grabbed his cell phone, pushed a button and barked an order in what sounded like Russian. He hung up without even waiting for an answer.

  “Now you’ve done it.” His hands shook with rage. “My friends are coming. They will take you away and dispose of you. Like they’ve disposed of every other woman who thought she could defy me.”

  Her eyes rose to the rearview mirror. There was a small speck on the horizon. Someone was coming. “Not if my friend gets to you first.”

  “You think Sergeant Keats is coming to save you?” He laughed.

  “Zack’s an excellent soldier, who believes in everything you should’ve stood for, and that’s exactly why he’s the man to take you down.”

  The speck in the distance grew larger. She could hear the roar of the motor.

  The General laughed. It was an ugly, angry sound. “You think I’d have lasted this long if I was that big a fool? That I didn’t test his loyalty, like I’ve tested everyone else’s? That bike’s brakes don’t work. I made sure of it. If he tries to come after you, he will crash and he will die, and I’ll have one less person to worry about.”

  He turned the key in the ignition again. But the truck wouldn’t move. He swore. The motorcycle grew louder. She could see it in the side mirror now. Shining against the shimmering blacktop. She grabbed for the gun with both hands and tried to yank it from the General’s grasp. It went off. The passenger window behind her shattered in a spray of glass. He fired again. She kicked him hard with both feet. The door flew open behind her. She flew backward onto the road. Pain shot through her body.

  She started to scramble to her feet, but her legs gave way underneath her. She felt back onto the pavement, feeling the blood trickling down her ankle. He’d shot her in the leg.

  The General climbed out and walked around the truck toward her.

  Then another gunshot split the air. She looked up.

  Zack fired as he roared toward them.

  Lord, help him. He won’t be able to brake!

  The General returned fire. The motorcycle grew closer.

  Zack was going to hit her. He wouldn’t be able to stop in time.

  The motorcycle swerved sideways. It skidded. Zack leaped. His body flew through the air as the motorcycle slid down the road and crashed behind him. He hit the ground, rolled twice and then leaped to his feet. The gun was steady in his hands.

  “Sorry to crash your vintage motorcycle, sir, but you see, it had no brakes, and I wasn’t about to let Rebecca face you alone.” He aimed the weapon straight between the General’s eyes. “N
ow drop your weapon, sir.”

  The General tried to laugh, but the best he could do was splutter. “Stand down, Sergeant. You don’t want to go up against me. You’ll face a court-martial. Your career will be finished.”

  Zack tiled his head toward Rebecca. “Can I safely assume you got what you were after, Becs?”

  She nodded. Tears filled her eyes. “I did. I got all of it. A full and complete confession.”

  “Thank You, God.” His lips moved in prayer. Then his unrelenting gaze focused hard on the General. “You really should’ve paid more attention to your daughter, sir. That was quite some business she built in video recording.” Anger darkened Zack’s smile, but as his eyes darted toward her face, she could see pride filling his eyes. “See, she recorded your whole conversation, and when you’re tried and found guilty of attempted murder, the whole world will know that your daughter is the hero who was brave enough to bring you down.”

  “And conspiracy and treason, Zack,” Rebecca said, pulling herself up on her elbows. “He was the leak who was working with Black Talon. And yes, I got it on camera. Every ugly word.”

  The General spun toward her, ugly, threatening words spilling from his lips.

  Zack dived for his chest. One decisive blow and the gun flew from the General’s hand. A second blow and the man lay slumped on the pavement, unconscious. Zack reached down and yanked the General’s shirt open. There was a small Black Talon tattoo on the top of his chest.

  Then Zack turned toward Rebecca. Something soft and tender pooled in his eyes. “You’re shot.”