“What’s going on, Chase? Who shot at us? Where’s Zoric and Mr. Crawley? Shouldn’t we be seeing the cavalry swoop in by now?” Already she found herself panting. “Join a gym” kept popping up on her to do list.
Chase continued steadily up a steep part of the trail, reaching back occasionally to pull Tessa forward so he didn’t have to wait for her to navigate the pit falls of the eroded trail created by spring rains. “Donno.” His tone, matter-of-fact, failed to end Tessa’s stream of endless questions. How much further? Can we stop a minute? How do you know Honey Lynch? Does Carter still work for NASA? How did you come to work for Enigma? How did Enigma originate? How do you know Essid? Blah. Blah. Blah. Chase stopped listening until he realized Tessa no longer trailed behind him. He turned to see her propped against a boulder, hands on her knees, trying to suck in more oxygen.
Patiently he waited for her to lean back against the boulder. Even now, disheveled, ripped clothes, smudged face and stinking of river water and burned wood, Tessa looked like an angel to him. That pain tapped at his chest again just as he diverted his eyes to survey the surroundings. Out of shape and exhausted, Tessa remained a trooper when it came to pressing on in the face of adversity. He saw resolve in her eyes but her body screamed ‘enough’.
“Let’s rest,” he said standing so still all sounds became magnified.
“Are you…” she began hesitantly.
Chase turned his dark brown eyes like lasers toward, Tessa causing her to swallow with a gulp. “More questions. I would’ve thought you’d run out by now!” he snapped.
“It’s not like you’ve answered any of them,” she said softly, hoping to disarm him like she did Robert. The frown and angry step toward her confirmed once more that this man was nothing like her Robert.
“One question. Then no more!”
“Are you going to kill me when this is all over,” she said so casually that Chase hesitated to answer.
The realization that this woman thought him a cold hearted monster caused that tap of pain in his chest again. Got to see the doctor, he thought with disgust. He’d left his weapon at the Hummer and it most likely looked like a piece of melted plastic by now. He’d just removed his gun from the holster moments before to make sure it was loaded and ready. Laying it on the front seat he’d turned to go to the back of the Hummer for extra magazines. When bullets began flying Chase’s first instinct was to protect Tessa. By the time the bullets stopped, retrieving the weapon was out of the question.
His hand slid to his belt, where the soft, damp sheath holding his knife, easily pulled free with the tug of his fingers. Holding it up in front of him, Chase walked quickly to Tessa. The sound of shock escaped her mouth as she started to edge off the boulder and down the path only to feel Chase’s hard grip on her elbow that jerked her to a stop. The raw fear looming in her eyes softened his anger enough to openly search her face with confusion. Why Tessa Scott? Why me? The thought of losing her in this fight because of his obstinate attitude and ego sobered him. The tremble in her arm as he pulled against the resistance Tessa exhibited, encouraged him that just maybe she’d be able to take care of herself if he were captured or killed. Squeezing her wrist so hard that the palm of her hand popped open, Chase laid the knife gently within her hold.
Quickly removing the sheath from his belt, Chase unzipped her pants only to feel her squirm away. “Look if I wanted you, which I don’t, I could’ve easily taken care of that last night. Now stand still. I’m trying to hide this inside your pants in case we’re taken. They’ll tear me apart looking for weapons, but not you.” Tessa nodded in surrender as Chase unbuttoned the last barrier before slipping his hands inside her jeans.
The steady movement of his hands caused Tessa to divert her eyes up through the trees at first but ultimately curiosity forced her to watch his face. The skillful way Chase looped the sheath to lie next to her skin sent shivers up her spine. A fleeting thought of regret at not taking advantage of the two for one sale at Victoria Secrets managed to cloud her confidence when she remembered the panties Chase slid his hand against were the St. Patrick’s Day special from Wal-Mart. Nothing said sexy like a bunch of smiling leprechauns holding shamrocks. Dear God, let me live until I can go to the next lingerie sale!
“There!” Chase carefully, almost slowly, zipped up Tessa’s jeans and buttoned them before she had time to protest. “In the event we’re captured, hopefully the luck of the Irish will be with you,” he grinned. Embarrassment edged up into her face giving Tessa a healthy rosy color. “Robert’s a lucky man,” he said in his best Irish brogue.
Tessa smoothed her ragged blouse over the edge of her waist. “Very funny. One more Irish comment…” Tessa pushed at Chase’s close proximity to no avail. His warm laugh caught her so off guard that she couldn’t complete the empty threat.
“You seem to forget pretty quickly that I’m the good guy,” Chase said realizing his nearness unnerved her. “We’re in this together and no, I’m not going to kill you when this is all over. However you’ll not be able to access anything that has gone on with this mission.”
“So, are you going to put on dark glasses and flash me with some Pentagon pen that erases my memory?” Tessa said flippantly.
“Something like that,” he said as he turned away.
“What? Seriously? You can do that?”
His warm laughter spilled unexpectedly out again. “Someone watches too many movies.” He started back up the trail. “Come on. We’re not that far now.” He suddenly stopped and turned to face her as she tried to catch up. “Tessa, you’ve got to trust me from here on out. I need one hundred percent from you no matter what I say or do.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I know. If all hell breaks loose, I need to know I can count on you. Things are not always what they seem. You’ve got to believe in me. No more doubting, escape attempts, complaining or trying to out maneuver me. Got it?”
Tessa nodded as she licked her dry lips nervously. “I owe you that. I’m,” Tessa pulled back her shoulders, “I’m sorry I accused you of…”
“Forget it. We get through this and I’ll get you some big girl panties,” he laughed as he heard Tessa’s exasperated snort.
The day faded quickly in the mountains as did the thought of escape in Tessa’s mind. This man really meant her no harm. It just was unnerving being so close to a real American hero. Captain Chase Hunter would remain unknown to millions for his efforts. His team carried on the work without them, hopefully safe at Global, waiting for help to arrive without incident so the mission could be put to rest once and for all. Essid would be captured and dealt a blow of justice. Her family, vacationing at Tahoe, would never know how close to disaster the country had come and the roll she played in saving it. A pride began swelling inside her. Finally her life made a difference. Nothing would ever be the same for her.
Chapter 25
Benjamin Clark could smell the smoke of the burning fires around Auburn and the nearby foothills even before he saw the flames devouring hundred year old trees. From the helicopter he could see firefighters scrambling to cut its march short as smaller fires were lit and debris pulled away from the hungry monster that Essid created to insure no outside interference compromised his recovery of the isotopes. The Scope and Discovery department notified Ben of the fire just as Technical Support confirmed authorities suspected an arsonist. Thoughts of both teams being separated or pinned by Essid’s death trap only mildly concerned him. Both Chase and Carter thrived on the impossible. When both teams failed to call in, Ben knew the plan had been jeopardized.
Aerial photos revealed empty roads except for one burning Hummer. Ben back tracked the information on the trucking company. Although the company checked out, the drivers all had one thing in common: money problems. One sold his soul to the gambling gods of Vegas; another one faced a barracuda of a divorce lawyer. Only one week remained before the bank foreclosed on his house. The third had a sick kid waiting for a kidney transplant wi
th no insurance. Three desperate men with the need for quick money tended to resemble a flask of nitroglycerin. How many others on Essid’s payroll bowed down to the god of money? In the current economy the potential prospects for a little extra work began to mount. It no longer involved Essid and a few of his radical lackeys. Americans bent on vengeance against government intervention in their lives, paramilitary groups, and religious nuts of all denominations could be a significant pool of support for Essid’s operation.
His people needed a miracle to salvage this mission. That’s when he’d called the Secretary of Homeland Security. Looking down now at the destruction, he observed another helicopter, an Erickson 64S Aircrane, assisting with loads of water releasing from its on board tanks, to reign down on the hungry flames below. Ben turned his eyes forward to focus on what lay ahead. Although the ultimate goal was to secure the isotopes, he knew the only thing he really cared about was getting his Enigma people out alive.
Carter evaluated their situation as the labored squeal of brakes on the eighteen wheeler jerked to a halt. The three truckers didn’t have the good sense to tie them up before ordering them into the back of the first truck. His driver, who appeared to be in possession of the worst attitude and foulest mouth, made the mistake of touching Sam seductively with his gun. He smiled remembering how in a blink she’d not only removed his weapon but jammed it in his open mouth as he hit the ground with a kick upside his head. Sam always amazed him with her incredible beauty and brilliant mind. But when she exploded into action he loved to just stand back, dreaming of what it must feel like to be tangled up with all that energy and power wrapped around him.
Carter had chuckled watching the trucker crab crawl backwards away from Sam as she removed the gun from his mouth. The short trucker stepped forward and pointed his weapon at Sam’s head. “Put it down.” The nervousness in his voice caused Sam to slowly turn her eyes on him. He stumbled back waving his weapon under her fierce gaze. “I’ll shoot them right here and now. Pretty boy will be the first.”
Carter looked over at Zoric. “Did he call me pretty boy?”
Zoric crossed his arms and rubbed the blood trailing into his eye with his shoulder. “I think he did. You are pretty, Carter.”
“Thanks, Zoric,” he said happily. “Sorry, trucker buddy. I’m not available. I just don’t roll like that. Do you even know who I am?” The truckers’ eyes darted to each other in bewilderment. Carter threw up his hands in exasperation. “Carter Johnson? Astronaut? Surely that rings a bell.” Carter looked over at Zoric with a smile.
“NASA keep that locator chip in your chest so they know where you are at any given moment?” Zoric spoke quietly as if the thought just occurred to him.
Carter scrunched up his face as if to protest too much. “No. No. Of course not.” But when he cut his eyes to the lead trucker, he recognized the seeds of doubt had been successfully planted.
“Shut up! Just shut up! Al,” he said looking to the man on the ground, “are you okay?”
Sam dropped the nine millimeter and refocused on the man on the ground.
“Al, you okay?” He repeated nervously.
The wounded pride smeared on Al’s face transformed into rage as he awkwardly stood then stampeded toward Sam. He looked over to make sure his two partners held their weapons ready just before he landed a doubled fist against Sam’s cheek. Carter grabbed her as she fell backwards, clearly dazed by the blow.
Vernon lunged forward to retaliate only to have a rifle jammed into his gut and shoved backwards. “Pretty safe in hitting a woman,” Vernon snarled.
“I didn’t sign up to hurt anybody,” the third trucker complained. “Much less hitting a woman. What are you thinking, Al?”
That insignificant moment of concern revealed a possible ally for Carter and his people. He smiled at the third man. “Guess you don’t know what this is really about then do you-what’s your name?”
“Joe. What’a ya mean?”
Al stepped back and motioned with his head to move the prisoners to the back of the truck as he picked up his semi-automatic from the ground. “He’s just tryin’ to get in your head, that’s all. Put’em in the back of the truck so we can get goin’. That fire is comin’ fast. If we want to get paid we better get movin’.” Al unconsciously touched the side of his head where Sam landed the toe of her brown leather boot. It still smarted. His backside hurt from hitting the ground and he was pretty sure his wrist needed medical attention after trying to break his fall.
The team quickly assessed the three truckers as amateurs; no gags to keep them from communicating, no restraints (thinking all you needed were guns to keep control), and no idea what they were doing. Carter bet the truckers would get careless now that they’d managed to hold them at gun point without getting their butts kicked. He felt the sloppy looking trucker, Joe, could be nudged into helping them with this new layer of concern. His nervousness originated not from assisting a terrorist, but hitting a woman. Al apparently was the brains so that certainly made their chances much better. The last trucker, a follower, looked confused and more than a little intimidated by Sam.
The screech of rusty bolts being slid back and the squeaky sound of metal doors slowly opening brought the Enigma team to attention as light began to filter into the truck. Instinct drove their hands to shade their eyes as guns waved, motioning them forward. Slowly, as if gauging the appropriate action needed, the Enigma team joined their captors on the ground.
The smell of smoke still permeated the late afternoon air. Ash floated down from a gray sky as Carter squinted his visual survey of their surroundings. Global Navigation appeared to have acquired some new security forces that looked a little rag tag at best. Counting ten armed men, Carter knew there were probably a few more inside along with Essid’s devoted “anything for the reward of virgins after death,” crowd. These freelancers were not much concern. They were in it for the money; probably lost their jobs, discontent tax evaders or just out for a cheap thrill. But Essid’s people were fanatics that suffered from a blurred sense of justice. They had nothing to lose and everything to gain, or at least the promise of virgins seemed like a reasonable prize.
Carter grinned and agreed that even he might jihad for such a prize, if he actually believed all that inflammatory nonsense. He’d settle for a long hot bath with Chase’s little Grass Valley housewife if she was of such a mind. After all, he thought he’d picked up on a more than casual interest when she’d started trying to talk NASA shop with him. He admitted to himself that her rapid questions and comments were a little on the naïve side but so deliciously adorable. Obviously, Tessa Scott belonged to the Carter Johnson fan club. Wonder what the mighty Captain Hunter would do about that?
His eyes fell on Sam. Her cheek, already deeply bruised, painted her disabled and fragile. If that had been true, he would have gladly torn that trucker apart. Why try to ruin such a piece of art? But Carter knew that having the truckers think Sam was out of commission only gave them an edge. When their eyes locked, she sent him a message not to worry.
Carter felt a nudge of a gun barrel in his back. “Move!” It was the trucker with the attitude, the one that liked slapping women around. “Don’t use any of that macho crap and try to escape. I’ll put a bullet in your little red haired freak.”
“Take it easy, Al. They just look like a bunch of nerdy scientists to me.” Joe pulled up his pants with one hand as he rolled his neck to relieve the tension.
“Does she look like a nerd to you? Probably some kind of ninja or somethin’.” Al slowed when Sam turned her eyes on him and touched her cheek. A sense of foreboding swept over him. “You guys move’em along while I go find who’s in charge.” His short legs moved quicker than usual under the narrowed gaze of the woman.
The second trucker moved off to the side, aiming his gun at Zoric who assisted the old man. Safety first. Let Joe protect the other three, he reasoned.
“Looks like your buddies left us to you,” Carter said stopping to be
nd down and tie his hiking boots. “Who hired you guys anyway?”
“Shut up.”
“I’m thinking you’re in way over your head.”
“Yeah? How ya figure?”
Carter stretched. Vernon and Sam moved forward giving Carter room. “You didn’t like your boss hitting Sam. If you were like them you wouldn’t have spoken up for her.”
“Move it.” Joe nodded forward and Carter took small steps.
“He get you into this?”
“Maybe. What do you care? You’re only here to make a little extra money just like me.”
Carter turned slowly so as not to threaten. “Not true. I’m here to prevent these guys from stealing life-saving isotopes.”
“What the hell is an isotope? Never mind. You’re just tryin’ to con me. I wouldn’t do nothin’ to hurt no one,” he snapped. “I just need some money for my kid. This guy offered us two thousand dollars apiece to protect the load and take you out. Said you guys wanted to steal it and sell it on the open market to terrorists. I’ve been helpin’ Homeland Security lately. They’ll vouch for me,” he said puffing out his chest. “You call my buddy Chase. He’ll tell ya.”
Carter stopped and grinned. “Well, hell’s bells! You’re the trucker that ran those crazy guys off the road in the van the other day!”
“Yep!” The obvious pride in his voice faltered when he looked closely at the five captives. “Who are you guys?”
“Joe, I think you and I are going to become best friends.”
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