“Now?”
The single word was punctuated by another shot blasting into the room and shattering the mirror over the dresser.
Clancy flinched, yet didn’t miss a beat. “Probably not the best timing, but that’s been stinking all the way around since I got off the cruise ship.” She reached in his pack and took back her pistol. “You want to come with me, that’s fine. I’ll show you where I found the piece of the aircraft.” She rolled to her back to load the gun. “And as much as I’d like to hike all over the Peruvian jungle and mountains, I’d like some backup. Preferably yours.” She cocked the slide and looked at him. “But I will find them.”
He held her gaze, his lips twitching. “No wonder you got tossed in jail.”
“I have been known to cause some trouble, yes.”
Training said don’t trust her, keep her gagged and cuffed. Instinct said there was too much truth to this. His team had been unreachable since he was in the hospital with the shoulder wound, and none of them told him of this, which sort of swung both ways in her defense. Believing her was a stretch, but then if it wasn’t true, why go through so much to make this right and help his buddies? And what good did it do to put her on a watch list?
High priority for certain, but it brought questions. Dangerous ones, and while her nanopod wasn’t easily reproducible, it was remarkable even in its concept. Downside was it was worth billions. That kind of potential had big protection. It wouldn’t be long before they sent someone else after her. If they hadn’t already. They weren’t taking any chances with her surviving, and it pissed him the hell off.
Alone, she’d be dead in a day.
“What do you say, Marine?”
“Deal.” He leaned in to kiss her just as something lobbed in through the window. “Shit!”
Mike grabbed Clancy and rolled, throwing her on her back. He fell on top of her, covering her eyes and ears just as the flash grenade popped, brightening the room and making his ears ring and burn.
He rose up and rolled off her. “You okay?” He cupped her face, making her look at him. He checked her eyes.
“Yeah, yeah.” She wiggled her finger in her ear.
He pulled her hand away. “It will stop in a few minutes. Come on.”
“Was that a flash grenade? Where do they get these things?” she said, following him on her hands and knees and feeling the wobbly effects of the grenade.
“Put your gear in this.” He shoved a backpack at her, then rolled toward his gear. Ditching the old rucksack, he filled a large pack, one with braces.
Clancy stuffed her flight bag inside the backpack. Reaching the door, he cut the lights, then stood carefully. “They’re trying to make us leave and we’re leaving?” she said when he opened the door a crack to check the corridor.
“Don’t try to find the logic.” Out in the hall, he gripped her hand and pulled her with him down a service stairwell.
Clancy held her gun clasped and low, following behind him, watching their backs. Then he stopped, peering through the glass of the service door.
“My truck is still there.”
“The upside of that is…?”
“We split up.”
“You’re leaving me?”
At the doubt in her voice, his brows thickened with a frown. “Oh, hell no, we don’t go forward with that sorry attitude.”
“Yes, sir,” she said sourly.
His features smoothed, tenderness in his voice. “I’m not leaving you, Irish.”
Relief swept through her and she searched his face, liking the man beneath the gung-ho, do-or-die barrier. He trusted her, for right now he was laying it on the line for her. “Me either.”
“You’re going to the truck. I’ll cover you till you get inside it.”
“They shot with a rifle. Who’s to say they aren’t waiting for us sniper style?”
“It’s possible, so move fast. There are four entrances to this hotel. I’m going out one of them and will cover you from another direction.” He gave her the keys. “You drive it two blocks north, then three west.”
She was shaking her head. He cupped the back of it, and kissed her forehead. He knew she was scared. There was no doubt she was hunted.
And he was in the way.
“Alive. That’s the prime objective. Stay alive. We’re in enemy territory now.”
Eleven
Mike grabbed her wrist, looked at her watch, then his. “Wait two minutes, then you go.”
“I got it.” He was still standing there. “Go, go, then.” She shooed him. “I’ll be fine.” Or dead.
He smiled, took a step, then cupped the back of her head and kissed her, hard and fast, and when he released her she fell back against the wall.
“Whoa. Screw the bad guys. Let’s find a room, Boy Scout.”
He chuckled as he hurried around the staircase and headed to the front of the hotel. She breathed deep, checked the time. It dragged, and she rocked from side to side as seconds ticked off, then she gripped the knob. Opening the door, she kept the gun at her left side, hidden by her thigh as she left the safety of the building and moved out in the open. She walked swiftly to the truck and slid behind the wheel. She looked up and saw Mike, sandwiched in an alley, nod to her, then head north.
Letting out a nervous breath, she started the engine. It clicked. “Oh no, no, no.” She pumped the gas, tried again, and failed. There was no charge at all. Her gaze slid to the area around her, up to the rooftops and open windows before she climbed out, impatience and fear riding her. Someone’s out there with grenades and rifles, she thought, and Mike was blocks away by now. Running like a bat out of hell would raise suspicion, and while a moving target wasn’t easy to hit, there were people in the streets partying who could be.
Maybe it’s just the battery cable, she thought, slinging on the pack. She went to the front of the truck, running her fingers under the metal lip for the latch. Her fingers brushed it and she bent to look. Two black wires were curled under the hood.
“They are so screwing with my karma.” She drew her hand back slowly and straightened, turning away. She took a few steps before she bolted, shouting at people to run. They just watched her, drunk and happy, and then she screamed, “Bomb!” and they scattered.
But Clancy wasn’t looking, arms and legs pumping. Five blocks, five blocks, she could do it. Mike will be there. She overtook two and turned west when it hit. The explosion roared through the streets, shaking the ground, and shattering glass and wood. She felt the burst of hot air on the back of her head and turned to look, stumbling. Orange fire blazed into the night sky, white smoke turning black and sooty before another explosion broke windows. She ran west at top speed.
Almost there, almost. A man stepped into the street, blocking her path, and even at this distance she knew it wasn’t Mike. He was just a few yards away and coming closer. She veered left and he did too. Clancy turned back and ran into a side street, the man’s footsteps echoing behind her. She spun around and fired without aiming and missing by a mile. The man returned it, clipping close to her feet, and she ducked out of range.
“You are trapped now,” he shouted
You think? The only things close to her were more walls and an open area with nothing for cover. If she ran, he’d shoot her in the back. She peered, and he stood in the center of the street, unafraid, showing off straight white teeth and a .357. Clancy closed her eyes briefly, knowing it was him or her. Before she could adjust her aim, he shot three times, one bullet passing through the trash can and chipping the wall behind her head.
She called out and stood. Think of something. Don’t die in an alley.
He raised his weapon. “Hand ups,” he said, then with the gun motioned her closer. “Throw the gun down.”
She obeyed and, alone in the damp street, she started toward him.
“This won’t hurt much.”
Clancy moved slowly, staying out of arm’s reach. “Who sent you?”
“I never know.” He shrugged
indifferently. “It works better that way.” He kept his aim tight on her, circling and forcing her where he wanted her to go. “Where is your big friend, chica?”
“Behind you.”
The man spun and Mike punched hard. The guy went down like a sack and didn’t move.
“That was amazing. Excellent KO,” she said, skipping past the fallen man, snatching up her gun.
Mike reached for her, and she fell against him. He squeezed her hard, then cupped her face. “Are you okay?” She nodded and they hurried away. “I take it I don’t have a truck anymore.”
“Yeah, I meant to tell you that.” Clancy stalled when she ran past a body in the street. He’s been busy.
“Then we need another ride.” Mike scanned the parked cars, spied one, then hurriedly jimmied the door and climbed in to hot-wire it.
“Why am I not surprised?” She hurried to the passenger side.
“Shouldn’t you be doing this, bad girl?”
“Not one of my skills.” She laughed as she slid into the seat. Mike kicked over the engine, threw it into gear, and gunned it, flying down the street. Lights flashed behind them and he glanced in the rearview.
“Shit! Incoming!” He pushed her head down and ducked. A shot shattered the rear glass. Mike drove with one hand and turned once to fire.
“God, they didn’t waste time. Can I sit up?”
“Yeah, but stay low. Don’t give them a target.”
She shook glass out of her hair and shimmied down into the seat, holding her gun to her chest like a puppy. “Gotta plan?”
“Evasion. Resistance.” Mike checked the rearview and made a sharp turn. “Oh, hell. He’s got relatives.”
Another car pulled up behind them, tapping the bumper and trying to run them off the road. Mike turned into a narrow side street, bouncing along, and then there was no place to go except into buildings and homes. Headlights brightened in the broken window.
She cocked her weapon, smirking up at him before she faced the rear between the seats and fired. “Step on it!”
“This thing doesn’t go any faster.”
“Pull ahead some.”
“Get it over with. Double-tap them.”
She looked at him, horrified.
“They’ll do it to you. Enemy territory,” he reminded her.
Us or them, Clancy thought as she fired, hitting the right side of the car. The guy jerked the wheel, clipped the curb, and the vehicle hopped and rolled over.
“Outstanding! But he’ll be back.”
She rolled her eyes and watched behind. “Do something creative, the inbred brothers are still coming.”
“I see that.”
She twisted. Another car was in front, coming straight at them. “Man, I really need a bigger gun.” The car came closer and wasn’t stopping.
Neither was Mike.
What was with men and playing chicken? “Don’t, Mike, please don’t!”
He didn’t listen. “Hold on, Irish, it’s gonna get a little wild.”
Hank Jansen flipped a hamburger on the grill and inhaled the aroma. Behind him on the patio, his children were laughing and he glanced to see his first grandchild wave her chubby little arms. His mind was barely on the grilling, still turning over the files Ensign Durry had given him.
He hadn’t discussed it with anyone, and made the decision to investigate on his own. He’d have to handle this with some delicacy. But the minute Durry brought this to his attention, he knew where to start. The military medical community had tried enhancements before, with steroids, full-spectrum drugs, and biomarkers. But they needed full approval and Hank would have been in the loop. He wasn’t on this, and whoever was behind it, they damn well better outrank him.
He wondered if Gannon had any idea, but the man made contact only once. Not unusual, Gannon rarely did until the mission was done. But just the implication that a U.S. government facility could have used troops as guinea pigs for some science experiment had his back up.
Don’t fuck with my troops, he thought, then noticed his wife as she came toward him, that pinched look on her face a warning.
She held out the phone. “I thought for one day I’d get you really here with us,” she said.
“I am here.” He flipped a burger, then reached for the phone and tucked it against his chest.
“It’s Groden,” she said and spun on her heel.
DEA. This won’t be good. “Colonel Jansen.”
“So sorry to bother you on a Sunday afternoon.”
“But you will, won’t you, Tom?”
A light chuckle came through the phone. “Well, I thought you should know this before it went out over the waves to NMCC tomorrow.”
“Give it to me fast, my burgers are flaming.”
“The UAV recording.”
Hank perked up.
“It covered a lot of area before it went down.”
Yes, about the size of Illinois, Hank thought. It was the DEA operation, but when it crashed it became his. A few million in hardware lost to the war on drugs.
“We’ve noticed something remarkable.”
“Like the location of the aircraft?”
“No, sir, but there should be something there, even if scavengers took the wreckage. But there’s no traffic in the area.”
Hank turned his back on his family and handed over the grilling job to his oldest son. “None? It’s the Amazon, for chrissake.” Hank didn’t have to look to know his wife was glaring at his back.
“Yeah, I got that too. But there’s no pirates, no drug traffic, boats, only the tourist ones, and they stick to the same route away from the smaller tributaries, since, well, kidnapping is a national pastime down there.”
“So your job should be easier.”
“Yup, you’d think. Street price for coke is sky-high too. That tells us a lot and I know I’m dragging this out but, sir, what would stop all drug traffic in that triangle?”
Hank was silent for a moment as his brain rolled over some facts and what-ifs. No severe weather, no earthquakes lately. A drug war wouldn’t stop production and export, just leave bodies.
Then he straightened, feeling a cold chill pour down his spine. “They have a new commodity for sale.”
“Kind of scary, huh?”
Clancy braced against the seat as if it would help. It didn’t. The car rumbled down the street, the speed of it tossing up trash.
“He wants to play chicken.”
“Jesus, Mike! There are people here!”
Mike gunned the little car, and Clancy prepared for a head-on collision. Closer. Closer. The headlights were blinding, but Mike kept it steady, laying on the horn. Closer. People scattered, jumping a low stone wall, some flying into buildings. The engine screamed and they were within yards.
Mike didn’t flinch.
The other car veered off sharply, its speed sending it into a stone wall. As Mike shot past, the car careened off it and spun. Behind them the car collided with the one on its side.
“All right!”
Mike grinned.
“Don’t do that again!” She shoved him.
“No guts, no glory.”
“Stupid ass.”
He chuckled lowly and reached for her. “Take a breath. We’re okay for now.”
She collapsed in a heap, gripping his warm hand.
“You did good, Irish. Really well.” He pulled free to drive.
Clancy wanted to grab him back. “Not to be repetitive, but now what?”
“We eliminate the problems. We hunt them.”
“Food? Water? Sleep?”
“Whining?”
“Personal observation. I’ve been awake for nearly forty hours.”
“We need to get out of sight and ditch this car.”
“I’d like more preparation.”
“Like you had one going into this?” He slipped his satellite phone free and glanced at the keypad. “What were you thinking?”
“Keep them alive.”
He s
tilled, meeting her gaze. He didn’t know what he expected to see, but the pure honesty in her eyes wasn’t it. Without any help, she’d managed to get this far, into trouble, sure, but Navy medic training didn’t entail search and destroy alone. But she was ready to take the badasses on alone. He admired that.
“I don’t suppose asking you to hide out while I take care of this will do any good?”
“Not a bit.”
He nodded slowly, exhaling. “Just checking.”
She jutted her chin at the phone. “Who are you calling at this hour?”
“Gantz.”
“I don’t like him.”
“He’s an acquired taste, but a good guy.” He speed-dialed, his gaze flicking around for more idiots in cars. “Oh, quit bitching, you didn’t need sleep anyway,” he said to Gantz. “I want intel on some scientists.”
Clancy frowned.
“That’s a big pile, be more specific,” Gantz said sleepily.
“Design engineers. Anyone who’s crossed the line, or has a flag.” He glanced at her and she made a sour “get over it” face. “Try rocket scientists. Someone had to have created that rocket. Someone smarter than us.”
“Now, there’s a stretch,” Clancy muttered, keeping watch for anything suspicious. Mike was still driving at top speed and the ride was anything but smooth and made her feel punch-drunk.
“What about Denner?”
“You were right, he’s a hired asset.”
Non-CIA hired muscle? Mike scowled. “Whose?”
“You don’t want much, do ya? And if they don’t want us to know, we won’t.”
“Use those tricks, Gantz, I need this. Is that flag confirmed?”
“Funny thing, my sources say it’s not on their data alerts, and it’s not turning up as an across-the-board watch. Makes me think it’s personal. You have her, ask her.”
He did and knew, but Gantz didn’t need to know about the nanopod. “Keep digging.”
“What do you want me to do with this, Gannon? I have my channels but—”
“Send it to Jansen.” He cut the call.
“I heard,” she said. “There is hope for Gantz yet.”
He loved it when she grinned like that. All sappy and feminine, like she had a secret you were dying to know and knew you never would. “Whoever sent Denner after you,” he said. “Could be anyone. A sanctioned hit on a noncombatant civilian is rare. Very rare. Officially, it doesn’t exist. Unofficially, it takes a lot of confirmations and it’s a last resort. The absolute last. Capture alive first.”
Intimate Danger Page 16