Beneath the Surface

by Meredith Fletcher

  This time when she threw a leg across his hips, she took him in one hand and gently guided him into her. He was hard and thick and possibly the greatest thing she’d ever felt.

  He started to move, but she winced in pain.

  “Wait just a minute,” she whispered. “It’s been a long time. I need to get…more comfortable.” She rocked on him slightly, taking him slowly and steadily deeper. He held back, but she could feel his desire trembling in his body.

  A moment later she had settled comfortably all the way onto him. She lifted and fell onto him, telling herself she was going to take her time—and take his breath away.

  Instead, taking his cue from her, he gripped her hips and drove himself into her. Weakly she fell forward across him. His lips claimed hers and her senses exploded.

  Once she’d come back to herself, she looked down and found him smiling. “That was just a fluke,” she said. “I have more control than that.”

  “We’ll see,” he said.

  “Ego much?” she asked. But that was the last thing she could say for a time as the world seemed to come apart around her again. His lips suckled her breasts and turned them hot and heavy.

  Before she could recover, before she could once more take charge, he pushed her from him, sliding out of her. She started to protest as he laid her facedown on the bed. Before she could move, he threw a leg over her hips and slid into her from behind.

  The full weight of him across her hips and back drove her crazy with desire. She rolled as best as she was able to drive her rear into him and take him deeper with each stroke. She was so wet that he had no trouble powering in and out, faster and faster.

  He gripped her wrists in his hands and wrapped them under her, propped himself on his elbows to keep some of his weight off her, then held her in a tight embrace as he drove himself even deeper than he had before.

  She cried out, and that embarrassed her because she didn’t do that. But it felt so good she couldn’t stop. He got harder and stronger inside her. She knew he was out of control now, too, could hear it in the rasp of his breath and the frantic way he moved to keep them joined.

  Then he rocked forward and strained against her buttocks a final time. She crested once more, joining him in a nuclear-powered, mind-wiping climax.

  After a few moments, he rolled over on his side. But he hooked her hip with his hand and rolled her over with him so he never slid free. She liked him for that. She wanted him inside her.

  He kissed her shoulder blades as he held her, his hands still gripping her wrists as he hugged her strongly enough to make her feel small in his embrace.

  “Wow,” she said a few minutes later.

  “Yeah,” he said.

  Then he got another condom from the mini-bar.

  They made love throughout the night, sleeping for a while, then wordlessly joining again, learning more and more about what the other wanted and needed. It was the most amazing thing Shannon had ever experienced.

  When she woke the next morning, she was still wrapped in his embrace, facing him this time. Looking up, she discovered that he was awake and looking down at her.

  “Hi,” he said.

  “Good morning,” she mumbled.

  “It’s past morning.”

  Shannon squinted at the balcony window and saw that the sun had been up for hours. “Oh.” She looked back at him. “Have you been up long?”

  “No.” His eyes were serious.

  “What’s wrong?”

  He looked at her for a moment. “I didn’t plan this.”

  “If anyone’s guilty of that, it’s me.” Shannon felt a little embarrassed. She pulled the sheet to her and started to get up.

  “Wait,” Rafe said. “I didn’t mean I didn’t enjoy this. I did.”

  “I’m glad to know that.” Shannon felt hurt and confused.

  Rafe reached up and brushed her hair out of her face. “I’m not very good at this.”

  Shannon just looked at him, dreading what he was going to say. He was going to politely brush her off. She told herself she could deal with that. That it wouldn’t matter.

  “I don’t do things like this,” Rafe said. “Unless this is going to go somewhere, I can’t do it again.” His voice thickened. “I like you way too much already. If you’re only looking for a distraction…”

  A smile spread across her face and her worries vanished. “You, Rafe Santorini, are not a distraction. You’re very probably the most amazing man I’ve ever met.”

  He grinned a little self-consciously. “Maybe you’re a little too impressionable.”

  “Maybe,” she agreed. “Want to impress me again?”

  He reached for her and pulled her into him.

  Just after one that afternoon, while they were sharing breakfast brought up by room service, Allison called on Rafe’s phone.

  “I found her.” Allison sounded tired. “I know where she is.”

  Chapter 30

  R afe stood in the prow of the speedboat they’d rented for the infiltration of the island where Allison believed Kwan-Sook was holed up. He used light-amplifying binoculars—Xiaoming and her team were definitely well-equipped—to scout the irregular coastline.

  “Yangshan is the newest port being developed in Shanghai,” Allison said over the earwigs they all wore. “Construction on it started in 2001 and it won’t be finished until 2012.”

  “So there’s a lot of building going on constantly in the meantime,” Rafe said.

  “Exactly.”

  “It provides perfect cover for someone who wishes to hide,” Xiaoming added.

  “Yes,” Allison said. “And if you want to do upgrades to your favorite base of villainy. I tracked the money that was given to Dr. Chow to several companies. After hours of intensive scrutiny, I tracked those companies back to a single corporate entity. White Dragon Enterprises. As it turns out, WDE owns a handful of development companies currently working on Yangshan Port projects. I’ve reviewed those projects and discovered properties that WDE owns under other names. One stood out in particular.”

  Rafe focused the binoculars on the coastline. Even at eleven at night many of the ships’ berths were occupied and busy. Cargo cranes stood tall and imposing as they worked under bright lights.

  “Black Swan Construction,” he said.

  “Yes,” Allison said.

  “Why that one?” Shannon asked. Like the others, she was dressed in black for the night. She also wore a Kevlar vest and carried a pistol on her hip.

  Rafe had been reluctant to let her come along. Maybe she was trained to use small arms and a rifle, but training was a lot different from being in the field.

  More than that, he hated the idea of losing her after he’d found her.

  “Black Swan Construction did a lot of dredging to clear the port for deep-water operation. This is the only port in Shanghai capable of handling off-loading of container ships. But it was also the perfect smokescreen for underwater construction.”

  “You’re sure there’s an underwater complex under that construction yard?” Rafe asked.

  “Yes. There has to be. Based on the electricity usage in that section of the city, I’d say it’s pretty large.”

  “Why has no one else found this place?” Xiaoming asked.

  “Because no one else has been looking where I’ve been looking,” Allison said. “This is what I do.” She paused. “If I’m wrong, we’ll look elsewhere. But I don’t think I am.”

  “What about the satellite?”

  “It’ll be in position by the time you get in place.”

  Allison was also providing satellite surveillance on the op and monitoring the video equipment they wore. She would be their extra eyes.

  “All right.” Rafe took a deep breath. “Let’s go see what we can see.”

  Shannon felt awkward aboard the speedboat. She wasn’t used to the heaviness of all the gear, and the Kevlar vest felt like a straitjacket. She was also the only one who didn’t have something to do aboard
the boat. She sat in the back as Rafe powered them toward the docks.

  You really shouldn’t be here, she told herself again. Athena-trained or not, you’re not used to operating at this level.

  But she hadn’t been able to stay away. The story was here. Maybe Allison had all kinds of data to back that up, but Shannon felt it in her bones.

  Minutes later Rafe powered the boat into a slip at an engine repair shop a quarter mile from the construction site. The shop was closed, and a high security fence surrounded the grounds.

  Shannon clambered out with the others and they made their way along the walkways lining the docks. They all wore long jackets like most of the other workers at the sites. The monsoon season had hung on and the night was filled with spitting rain and the promise of more storms.

  No one in the group spoke. Although she was dying to talk and break some of the tension she felt, Shannon remained silent, as well.

  As it turned out, Kwan-Sook was expecting company. Extra guards were posted around the construction yard’s perimeter. There were also guardhouses, after a fashion.

  Rafe spotted the men in the tall earthmovers and he didn’t miss the fact that they were positioned so they had overlapping fields of fire.

  “She’s scared of someone,” Xiaoming said.

  “Why do you say that?” Shannon asked.

  “Because she has so many guards posted,” Rafe said as he watched through his binoculars.

  “You can’t post this many guards on a regular basis and hope not to get noticed,” Xiaoming stated. “She has more posted tonight than she normally does. You can believe that.”

  “How many do you count?” Rafe asked.

  Xiaoming hesitated a moment. “Stationary and roving? Fourteen.”

  “Can we take fourteen?”

  “We can take a few of them before the others are alerted. We could probably take them all, but not before the ones that are sure to be below are alerted.”

  “That’s what I was thinking, too,” Rafe admitted.

  “Isn’t there some kind of air shaft or back door to the underground room?” Shannon asked.

  Rafe and Xiaoming looked at her.

  “I mean,” Shannon said, “there always is in the movies.”

  “If this was a movie,” Xiaoming said, “perhaps we could count on that. In real life we do it another way.”

  “Disguises?” Shannon asked. “Because I thought of that and figured that wouldn’t work at all.”

  “Actually,” Rafe said, “it’s going to be simpler than that.” He pulled back into the darkness.

  “These guys aren’t loyal minions like they have in the movies,” Rafe said. “They’re rent-a-thugs. Professionals or semi-professionals. As long as everything is easy, as long as they hold superior numbers or superior position—”

  “Or they truly believe in their cause,” Xiaoming put in.

  “And we have no reason to think they do,” Rafe said. “Then—when confronted with someone who has superior numbers, firepower or position—they’ll fade the heat.”

  “What do you mean?” Shannon asked.

  “They’re trained to fight,” Xiaoming said. “But they’re also trained to surrender. We just have to convince them to surrender.”

  “Or die,” Hua said as she assembled the sniper rifle she’d carried in an equipment bag. She smiled. “I can be very convincing.”

  Shannon believed the woman.

  Rafe stepped out of the darkness and came up behind the man he’d targeted. The guards weren’t as well trained as he was. That made a difference.

  When he reached the man, Rafe slid an arm around his neck in a choke hold, then screwed the barrel of his pistol into the side of the man’s head. The man froze at once. Under the conditions, it was the only intelligent thing to do.

  Rafe spoke Cantonese so the man would understand him. “If you do anything—anything—you’re a dead man. Nod if you agree.”

  The man hesitated, then nodded.

  “Now here’s what I want you to do,” Rafe said. “Use your radio. Talk to your men. Tell them to withdraw from the area.”

  The man tried, for just an instant, to be tough. “You’re going to be in a lot of trouble.”

  “You won’t be around to see how it all works out,” Rafe promised.

  The man grabbed the handi-talker on his shoulder. He spoke quickly.

  “They’re not convinced,” Xiaoming said over the earwig.

  “The guards are moving in on your position.”

  “Convince them,” Rafe said. Then he turned his attention to the man he held. “Tell your men that one of them is about to die.”

  The man didn’t respond.

  “Now!” Rafe ordered.

  In a broken, scared voice, the man did as he was told.

  “They’re still coming,” Xiaoming said.

  “Which one?” Rafe asked, intending the question for Hua.

  “The man in the earthmover in the southeast corner,” Hua said.

  “Tell them your buddy in the southeast corner is dead,” Rafe said.

  The man did.

  In that instant, the man in the earthmover tried to bail. But even as he moved, his head snapped back and he sat—for a moment—in the control cabin. Then he began the long, silent fall to the earth.

  “They’ve stopped,” Xiaoming said. “Now they’re withdrawing.”

  “There’s an entrance to the underground area,” Rafe said.

  “Where do I find it?”

  “In the warehouse. There’s a cargo lift. It goes down if you have a key card. Then you can step off into the tunnels there.”

  “Do you have a key card?”

  “No.”

  “Don’t worry about the key card,” Allison said. “I can get around that.”

  Rafe frisked the man he held, removing his weapons and finding his identification. He held it up to the man. “If you come back with friends, if someone shows up that I think is connected to you, if the police come, you’re going to die.”

  Fear showed in the man’s eyes.

  “Do you believe me?” Rafe asked.

  “Yes,” the man whispered. “Yes, I believe you.”

  Rafe released him. “Then go away.”

  The man fled.

  Rafe held his position until his team was ready. Then they went forward.

  Anxiety threaded through every fiber of Shannon’s being. She had to remind herself not to breathe shallowly and to keep her lungs filled with fresh oxygen. She followed Rafe, only a few steps behind him when they reached the warehouse.

  He hesitated outside the door marked Personnel and held an electronic device to the lock. A moment later the lock snicked back.

  Allison, Shannon realized. Man, she must really love the cool spy toys. Back at the academy, Allison had always loved the cutting-edge computer hardware and software.

  No one was inside the warehouse.

  They made their way through stacks of building supplies to the cargo lift.

  Rafe held the electronic box to the card reader. A moment later the lift sank into the floor. Rafe, Xiaoming and the others stood on the side and pointed their weapons down into the lighted hallway beneath.

  The hallway was empty.

  “Okay,” Rafe said. “One at a time.”

  They dropped into the hallway and waited until everyone was together again. There was only one door at the end of the hallway.

  Rafe used the electronic box and they went forward with their weapons ready. He carried a silenced submachine pistol in his hands and moved in a slightly sideways gait.

  Shannon’s heart pounded. She went empty-handed. Rafe had told her not to draw her weapon until she knew she had to use it. Now she knew why. As keyed-up as she was, she might have accidentally discharged it and shot one of her teammates. She liked to think she wouldn’t have made that mistake, but she was honest enough with herself to realize she didn’t know.

  When she heard the familiar beeping ahead of her, Shann
on knew they were close to their quarry. And she also now knew what the sound was.

  A door blocked the way. Without warning, locks within the door slammed shut.

  “We’re blown,” Rafe said. “Get us through that door.”

  Jintao stepped forward and slapped a shaped plastic explosives charge to the door.

  Shannon stood and watched until Rafe grabbed her by the front of the Kevlar vest and yanked her into the wall.

  “Now,” Jintao said softly and pressed the detonator in his hand.

  Sound and fury exploded to violent life in the hallway. But it was controlled enough that only the door was blown to pieces. Before those pieces had time to fall to the floor, Rafe had the submachine gun in his hands and was moving through it.

  Chapter 31

  S hannon followed Xiaoming through the shattered door. Smoke filled the hallway from the blast, but there wasn’t as much of it as she’d expected. In the movies there was always a cloud.

  She stopped thinking about that, stopped thinking at all when she saw what lay inside the room.

  A gargantuan woman lay in a specially constructed hospital bed in the center of the room. She had to be at least nine feet tall and weigh at least a thousand pounds. She was a quivering pool of blubber.

  Fear and outrage warred for control of her misshapen features. Her hair was pulled back.

  All around her and on the ceiling were dozens of computer monitors. Each monitor pulsed data and images. Shannon saw that some were news feeds, but others appeared to be views into public buildings and private homes.

  The huge woman had cables attached to her head. No, that was wrong, Shannon saw. The cables were actually implanted inside her head.

  For a moment Shannon thought she was going to be sick.

  The sight evidently had an effect on Rafe and the others, as well. They all stood speechless with their weapons drawn.

  “Shannon,” the huge woman said.

  “Kwan-Sook,” Shannon whispered.

  “Yes.” The massive head didn’t move, but the frightened eyes did. “Are you here to kill me?”

  Drawn by the woman’s helplessness, Shannon walked toward the bed. Rafe tried to stop her, but she pushed his hand away. This was a story. A hell of a story. And she had to know it.