Race Against Time: A Novel

by Kimberley Woodhouse

  “Very nice.”

  They traipsed up and down the steps several times, carrying on with the small talk.

  On the last load Anesia placed the box she carried on the table and winked at Zoya. The younger Naltsiine headed out the door and around the cabin. When she came back in, she held some sort of insulated bag.

  Zoya bounced up and down. “Welcome home, Sean!” She held out the bag.

  Speechless, he took the proffered gift, but stood stiff, not sure what to do next.

  “You’re supposed to open it.” Anesia just shook her head as she stood in front of him and opened the zippered compartment. “We had Derek hide it over here on the back porch a few minutes before you arrived.”

  Steam and delicious smells rose to his nostrils.

  “It’s coffee cake. And Jenna’s famous peanut butter bars. And”—she pulled the steaming tray out—“homemade Lumpia.”

  “Wow.” He found his tongue. “I don’t know what to say. It all smells so delicious.” He looked down into Anesia’s eyes. “Thank you. But what’s Lumpia?”

  “It’s Filipino. A friend of mine taught me how to make them. Kinda like an eggroll, but filled with beef and veggies. And I’m the one who should be thanking you. I can’t tell you what it means to have you here.”

  And for just a moment he caught a glimpse of what he thought was attraction, coming from the eyes of the most beautiful woman he’d ever known. His heart soared.

  He really was home.

  * * *

  COLE

  January 24

  Richardson Highway

  6:47 p.m.

  The truck barreled down the highway toward North Pole. What a rotten day. The pressure was on, and he wasn’t a millimeter closer to discovering the code. And to top it all off, intel came back on the murder Zoya witnessed. The FBI wouldn’t allow him to give the details to Anesia—fearing it might incite panic in the already paranoid mom—but Agent Philips cleared Cole to give Sean enough information to help protect the Naltsiine girls.

  He looked down at the speedometer. Once again, he was speeding. A lot. Jenna always harassed him about having a lead foot.

  He eased his right foot off the accelerator. Needed to keep his aggravation under control. He wouldn’t be any good to anybody if he ended up dead from a careless accident. Especially on the icy roads.

  The miles disappeared as he ran over the details in his mind. Anesia and Zoya needed constant protection. But the FBI didn’t have anyone to spare, every available man was on the case. They also wanted to prevent panicking the Naltsiines.

  When Anesia found out though, she would skin him alive.

  Jenna would help.

  And Andie.

  Wasn’t looking forward to her finding out. A teenager protective of her best friend? Oh yeah. Dead meat would be his new name.

  Too complicated. Marc, did you ever have any idea what all this would cause? Cole slammed his palm on the steering wheel. What a mess.

  He punched the speed-dial for Anesia’s home.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, Anesia, it’s Cole. I need to talk to Sean, does he have a landline out in the cabin yet?”

  “Yep, he sure does. But he’s standing right here. Let me put him on.”

  “That’d be great.”

  A rustling noise came over the line as the handset was passed. “Hey, Cole. What can I do for you?”

  “Hey, Sean. Can you meet me at your cabin in about twenty minutes?”

  “Sure—”

  “Tell Anesia we want to do some guy stuff.”

  “All right.” Sean’s words were hesitant and drawn out.

  Cole worked through an idea in his mind. “Do you have the satellite set up yet?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  The guy was so stinkin’ proper. “Loosen up, Sean.”

  The guy cleared his throat. “Sure thing.”

  Cole laughed. “You’re great. Look, tell Anesia that I want to check out your new setup and we’re going to watch a game. Which is true. That way she won’t get suspicious.”

  “Okay.”

  “Thanks, man.”

  “You got it.”

  The drive to Anesia’s property was uneventful. As he pulled through the drive and around to the cabin, he waved at his wife’s best friend peeking out her office window. She returned the wave and bent her head back over her desk. No one could ever accuse her of being lazy. That woman was always on top of everything, and she had so much on her plate. Just like his Jenna.

  A porch light on the cabin was new. And it looked like the outside had a fresh coat of stain. How had they managed that in the middle of winter? Or had he just been unobservant?

  Sean opened the door to the cabin as Cole shifted to park and ventured from the warmth of his truck. The air was even colder tonight than it had been. He pulled his jacket up over his nose and mouth as he ran into the cabin.

  “Hey, Cole.”

  “Sean.” He yanked off his boots and coat. “How’d it go with Anesia?”

  “She smiled at me and kept working on the books.”

  “Good.” He walked straight to the couch and sat down. “Go ahead and turn the game on, but mute it. We’ve got a lot to cover.”

  Sean raised his eyebrows. “All right.”

  “Anesia and Zoya need protection.”

  Sean stiffened and sat in the chair in front of Cole. “Continue.”

  “We’ve checked into your background, and the FBI has cleared me to talk to you. But under no circumstances are Anesia and Zoya to find out.”

  “Find out what?” Sean leaned forward, his face serious. “About the footprints?”

  “That’s only the tip of the iceberg. You know about the murder Zoya witnessed?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, the victim wasn’t a homeless man like the police and papers said.”

  “Go on.”

  Cole took a deep breath. “Sean, how much do you know about AMI?”

  He shook his head. “I’m afraid I don’t know any Amy.”

  “Let me back up. AMI isn’t a person. It’s an acronym. Advanced Missile Interceptor. Anesia didn’t say anything to you?”

  “No, sir.”

  “Drop the sir, Sean.” Cole ran a hand through his hair. “I get enough of that on post.” He tried to soften the words with a laugh. “I’m surprised Anesia didn’t tell you more. She asked me if she could. I know your being here has helped relieve a lot of her worry.”

  “I will do whatever I can to help.”

  “That’s good to hear, man.” Another deep breath. Where to start? “Marcus Gray was Jenna’s first husband.”

  Sean nodded.

  “He and I were in the Army together. In the latter years we were in a black ops group. Marc was a genius. Could do anything with computers and designed things no one else could even imagine. Near the end the leader of our group convinced Marc there was more money to be made outside of the military. They started down a road the rest of us knew nothing about. And when we did find out, we didn’t like it.”

  “Marc worked on a prototype for a new defense weapon. He lived and breathed that program. I found out about what was going on and confronted Marc. I knew the guy. Claimed he was a Christian. But he got wooed by the money. We fought. He came to his senses. And then Andie had brain surgery.

  Sean’s forehead creased. “Brain surgery?”

  “Sorry, I’ll back up again. Andie was born with a very rare nerve disorder. Hereditary Sensory Autonomic Neuropathy. She doesn’t sweat and doesn’t feel pain unless it’s twenty to thirty times the intensity you and I would feel.”

  “That’s . . . terrible.”

  “Yeah, not quite sure what you’ve signed on for, huh?”
A sad chuckle died on his lips. “Anyway, because of her disorder they never discovered she had another condition, because she wasn’t symptomatic until a couple years ago. Anyway, Andie had to have brain decompression surgery. That week was awful. Marc and I had it out, and he was desperate to find a way to protect his family once he turned his back on Viper—the leader. A powerful man you’d never want to cross.”

  Cole looked down at his hands. It hurt every time he thought about Marc.

  “What happened?”

  “Marc was killed by a car bomb while Andie was still in the hospital.”

  “Over the program?”

  “Yeah. Viper found out Marc had contacted the FBI. But Viper already had a deal with North Korea. He wanted Marc’s program and the money.”

  Sean stood abruptly. His fists clenched. “I am so sick”—words came out through his teeth—“of avaricious, and power-hungry men who think they can do whatever they want, whenever they want—”

  “Whoa, Sean . . .” Cole held up his hands. What was he supposed to say? This was the first time Sean had ever lost his cool. He seemed so mild-mannered, Cole would never have guessed at the anger under all that. What triggered it? Cole would have to investigate later. But right now . . .

  The matter at hand was more urgent. “Sit down. There’s more.”

  Sean sat, eyes blazing.

  “That car bomb was meant for both of us. Marc had hidden the program and Viper was desperate for it. After Marc was gone, I disappeared for a little while. Tried to dig for myself to get a step ahead of Viper. But he went after Marc’s family.

  “A year after Marc’s death, I met Jenna and Andie in person. We were all on their plane heading back to North Pole when it was sabotaged and we crashed on Sultana.”

  “Next to Denali?” Sean’s eyes were huge. “I hiked the Parks Highway all the way around the park. Good grief, how did you survive?”

  “That’s a story for another time.” Cole wiped a hand down his face. Keep to the facts. “We all worked together to stop Viper, but it wasn’t without its cost. He blew up everything on Jenna’s property and tried to kill both of them. But he died in the blasts and we recovered AMI.”

  “And you and Jenna ended up getting married?”

  “Yep. Best thing that ever happened to me. I came to know the Lord through all this mess and found Jenna and Andie.”

  “Where did you find AMI?”

  “In an underground bunker on their property.” Cole allowed himself to laugh. “My wife, Jenna, is a little paranoid. Likes to be prepared for everything.”

  “With a special needs child, I can understand why.”

  Cole swung his head to Sean. This guy was quick. And paid attention. That would be very useful. “You’re right. I’ve always teased her about it, but I guess it does deserve a little respect. After all she’s been through . . .” Cole cleared his throat. “That’s beside the point. Let me continue. AMI was recovered and is in government hands. But people are trying to steal it. The guy Zoya saw murdered was an undercover FBI agent.”

  “So you think they’re going to come after Zoya?”

  “I hope not. But they probably will.”

  Sean sat very still for several moments. “What do you need me to do?”

  “Keep an eye on everything. Especially Zoya. Anesia too. We don’t want them to panic right now.”

  “You can count on me.” A muscle twitched in Sean’s jaw. “What exactly does AMI do? You mentioned defense weapon, but a missile interceptor is just in defense.”

  “Not much gets past you, does it?”

  “I wouldn’t have survived all these years as a Connolly if anything had, and CROM used to manufacture missile interceptors.”

  Bound to be more to that story as well. “It’s brilliant. Not only is it 99.7 percent accurate in destroying the incoming missile, but it can shoot up to three missiles of its own just before impact to wipe out the point of origin.”

  “Impressive. Any country with that kind of weapon power would rule the world, wouldn’t it?”

  He hadn’t thought of it in those terms, but Sean was correct. AMI in the wrong hands . . . it gave him chills just to think of it. But what if . . .

  Was that the goal of the U.S. government? To rule the world? Or was it just to protect its citizens? Both?

  “I see I’ve made you think.”

  Cole nodded. “There are some things I haven’t considered before. My job’s been to follow orders, serve my country. Protect her.”

  “But you’re worried about intentions?”

  Cole shook his head. “Right now, I need to stay on task. And that is to protect my family and prevent AMI from being stolen. Anesia and Zoya are family.”

  “Understood.”

  “We can’t let anything happen to them.”

  Sean nodded.

  “It would help if we could find the killer. But I think we’re up against more than we know.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  ZOYA

  January 26

  Naltsiine Kennels

  11:20 a.m.

  The house was quiet. Almost too quiet. I hadn’t heard one thing but the sound of pages turning in fifteen minutes. If I had been a commentator, I would lose my job.

  I squirmed in my seat.

  “I’m bored. Let’s do something”—I grabbed the book Andie was reading and shoved it on the top of a bookshelf—“besides read.”

  “But you love to read! And it’s good! And I don’t know wha—”

  “Nope.”

  “Oh, fine.” She crossed her arms again and sighed. “So, what do you want to do?”

  Sean came through the front door and shed his coat. “Wow, it’s cold out there.”

  Perfect timing.

  “Hey, Sean.” Andie waved.

  “Hey.” I gave a half-hearted smile.

  “And what might you two pretty young ladies be doing?” He walked into the living room and sat by me on the couch.

  “I want to read, but Zoya won’t let me. So here I am, stranded on the couch, having to let my mind wonder what happens next.” Andie sighed and stared at the wall.

  “Woe is she.” I nodded.

  “Yes, woe is me.” She wiped a hand across her forehead.

  Drama queen.

  “I shall die with anticipation.”

  Sean smiled. “So I see.”

  “Hey, this is a very serious matter!”

  I could tell she was trying not to smile.

  “Yes, don’t you see that this poor girl is suffering?” I stood and patted her head.

  “Do I detect sarcasm?” Andie looked up and grinned. “Or is that affection? You love me so much that you’ll let me finish reading?”

  “No, that was sarcasm.”

  “I thought you’d say that.”

  Sean chuckled.

  “Why don’t we take the dogs out?” Andie giggled and bounced across the room. “That would be fun!”

  Something in the pit of my stomach curdled. I tried to smile.

  Orange hat . . .

  A shiver raced up my spine.

  Get over it, Zoya. I blinked.

  “Well . . .” Sean looked from Andie to me. “Let’s go ask your mom.”

  “If we do go, will you go with us, Sean? I don’t want to go out alone.” I let out a sigh. Everything in me screamed no. Another shiver raced up, then down, my spine. I didn’t want to be out alone. Not one bit. Not if there were people looking for me out there.

  “You bet. I’d be happy to go. Actually, I was about to offer. But we should check with your mom first, just to make sure she doesn’t need me here.”

  “Okay. Thanks.”

  “Not a problem.”

  Co
ats on, we walked outside.

  Mom was kneeling next to Eklutna, the lead dog for the Glacier Litter.

  “Hey, Auntie Anesia?” Andie waved and jogged the rest of the distance over.

  I studied her movements. Something wasn’t right. Eklutna whimpered and tried to wiggle out of her grasp.

  “Hold on a minute, girls.”

  “What’s wrong?” I knelt beside the two and rubbed the dog’s neck.

  “I’m not sure. But several of the dogs are acting strange, including Morphine, Chocolate, and Aurora. He”—she pointed to Eklutna—“seems to be the worst.” Mom looked worried. In fact, I hadn’t seen her this worried about the dogs in awhile.

  What’s going on?

  “Do you need my help taking care of them, Anesia?” Sean took a step forward.

  She shook her head. “No, but thank you. I just finished checking all the litters.” She sighed and stood. “We’ll see if anything happens by tomorrow. What’d you guys need?”

  I smiled and patted Eklutna again. Poor thing. I hope you get better, buddy.

  Andie smiled and scooted closer to me. “Can we go out for a run? It’s good weather. And Sean said he’d go with us.” She tilted her head and gave a ‘charm smile.’

  “If you don’t need me.”

  “Well . . .” Mom looked from me to Andie to Sean. “I guess. But be careful.”

  Andie grabbed my hand. “Yes, ma’am. We will.”

  It wasn’t long before we were on the trail, now that Sean knew what to do with the dogs.

  Trail after trail we passed. It was amazing to see all the snow and trees. Awesome . . .

  Sean took the lead. Making sure there was no one waiting for us, no doubt.

  After several miles the dogs panted, making us pull over to the side.

  “We should stop here.” Sean hopped off his sled and walked over to Percocet, his lead dog. “They need a rest. I guess they’re pooped.”