Man with a Mission

by McKenna, Lindsay

  “Let me go to the house,” Ana whispered in a low voice.

  His eyes flared with surprise. Jake saw the resolve in them. “No way, Ana!” His voice was intense and didn’t brook argument. “You stay here. I’ll go. There’s a door just across the yard, no more than fifty feet away. You stay here and keep watch.”

  Frantically, Ana looked at him. She absorbed his weight and warmth beside her. “Jake, that’s dangerous! You don’t know the layout of this villa!”

  “And you don’t, either. We can’t wait all day hoping to see Tal. What if she’s hurt?”

  Ana saw the raw anguish in Jake’s eyes. Reaching out, she gripped his hand, her muddy fingers curving strongly about his. “I know…I know. I just wish there was a better—safer—plan….”

  Just then, Ana heard a sound. And it sent a chill crawling up her spine. Her fingers tightened on Jake’s. “Listen,” she whispered, frantically searching the foggy mist that hung like a heavy blanket around the top of the hill.

  He cursed softly. “A helicopter…”

  “A Kamov.”

  His eyes narrowed on Ana’s taut expression. Blood was draining from her face.

  “Damn!” He remained hunkered down. Kamovs could fly in dense fog and clouds because they had the instruments to negotiate such nasty weather conditions without crashing. Just then, he heard a door in the villa open. Male voices drifted their way. Easing up slightly, Jake spotted two military-garbed guards with weapons and another, shorter man in the middle. The shorter man was dressed in an expensive set of slacks, dark brown Italian shoes and a white silk shirt. It was Rojas. Feeling Ana’s hand gripping his arm, Jake slid back down.

  “Rojas. Two guards with him…”

  “Don’t move!” she rasped. Ana looked upward. The thudding rotors were approaching, making the entire hilltop and everything on it, including the trees, tremble.

  “What if they’re taking Tal away in it?”

  Ana shook her head. “The Kamov is a one-seater, Jake. No, it’s probably a pilot landing to pick up some cocaine and ferry it to Bolivia. Just sit tight. Please…”

  Her eyes begged him to stay where he was. Jake was torn. He saw Rojas and his two men move around the house toward the concrete landing pad on the other side of the villa. The door was ajar. It was a perfect opportunity.

  Gripping Ana by the shoulder, he said, “I’m going in. There isn’t going to be a better time. They’re engaged in that Kamov landing and the transfer of coke.” He saw her eyes widen in fear—for him. Her lips parted. Giving her a tight smile, Jake leaned over and crushed his mouth against hers.

  Ana’s cry of fear was drowned in her throat as his mouth moved commandingly across her lips. His breath was warm and moist, his hand strong and guiding against the back of her head as he drank swiftly of her.

  Heat and lights exploded behind her closed eyelids. Urgently, Ana returned his unexpected kiss. Just as she leaned forward, her hand on his arm, he tore his mouth from hers. The dark, predatory gleam in his narrowed eyes made her want to sob. This was a part of Jake she hadn’t seen before. The warrior. The lethal hunter.

  “Wait for me?” he rasped.

  Nodding and unable to speak, Ana touched her throbbing lips where he’d imprinted his maleness upon her.

  Digging the toes of his muddy boots into the soft surface, Jake lunged upward. The Kamov’s double rotors were shaking the hell out of the hill now. The noise would more than cover his movements. He still couldn’t see the helicopter through the thick fog that hung just above the villa. Sprinting for the back door, Jake made it inside. Instantly, he held the pistol up in both hands, his back pressed to the wall. Breathing hard, he jerked a look down the hallway. It was empty. Taking a quick glance around, Jake saw two doors standing open. Halfway down the hall on the right was a third door. It was shut. Was Tal in there? He followed his hunch.

  Tiptoeing down the carpeted expanse, Jake reached the door. There was no sign of a bolt or padlock. He saw that the button in the center of the doorknob was pressed inward, indicating it had been locked from this side. Quickly slipping his hand forward, he jiggled the knob. It didn’t budge. He pressed the button and it popped out.

  Taking a breath, Jake jerked the door open and moved swiftly into the room.

  “Tal!”

  His sister was standing at a window with bars across it. She turned. Her oval face went pale. “Jake!” His name tore from her lips. Tal’s blue eyes widened in shock at his unexpected appearance.

  “Shh!” Jake quickly shut the door and holstered his pistol. He turned. Tal was five feet nine inches tall. She wore her thick blond hair in a pixie-style cut. Uttering his name again, Tal threw her arms around his shoulders, pressed her face against his shoulder and sobbed.

  “Oh, Jake! How did you get here?”

  He held her tightly for just a moment. Then, placing his hands on his sister’s shoulders, he searched her tearful features. Tal had a black eye, and he saw old, dried blood at one corner of her mouth, the flesh puffy along her right cheek and nose.

  “Tal, you’re hurt…who did this to you?”

  She wrinkled her nose and stared up at him. “It’s nothing. I’m okay.” Her voice trembled. Tears came to her eyes. “I thought I was a gonner, Jake. How…I mean…I never thought you would be here.” She gave him a giddy, almost hysterical laugh of relief, her blue eyes sparkling with hope.

  Outside, Jake could hear the Kamov landing. The entire villa shook from the powerful buffeting of the rotors. Gripping her by the arm, he looked around. Tal was dressed in her usual type of clothes—a short-sleeved white blouse, jeans and hiking boots.

  “We’ve gotta get out of here, Tal. We’ve only got a minute or so. Where’s your jacket?”

  She quickly moved to the bed and grabbed a dark green nylon jacket from the foot of it. “Here. Let’s go!”

  Nodding, Jake pulled out his pistol, and with his other arm, kept Tal behind him. “First we gotta get out into the hall. How many guards?”

  “Four.”

  Damn. Two were with Rojas. Where were the other two? Possibly waiting at the landing pad with the cocaine? Jake hoped so. Easing the door open, he quickly looked up and down the hall. It was empty. Swinging the door wide, he said in a gruff tone, “Run to the end of the hall by the door. Don’t go outside yet. Wait for me.”

  Nodding and wiping her cheeks free of tears, Tal quickly slipped past him.

  Turning, Jake made sure the door was shut and the button pressed in. That way, Rojas and his guards would think that Tal was still locked away in the room. Unless they went to check on her, no one would realize she was gone. And that bought them time. Time they desperately needed.

  Running down the hall as quietly as possible, Jake saw his sister waiting tensely at the door. Her face was pale. His gut told him something terrible had happened to Tal. It made him nauseous to think what might have. Her blond hair was unkempt, and she had dark purple circles beneath her glorious blue eyes. Tal was such an outgoing person, a risk taker, a real extrovert who loved life and people. She was always trying to help others less fortunate than her. As he ran toward her, it sickened Jake to realize that she’d been injured. When he reached Tal, he quickly searched her features. Jake knew now that she’d been beaten—often. Her once fine, thin nose had a bump on it. Swelling was still there from someone hitting her hard and breaking it. Rage swelled up in him. He wanted to kill the bastard who had touched Tal. She didn’t deserve this. None of it.

  Controlling his fury, Jake carefully eased the back door open. Tal hovered at his back, her hand resting tentatively on his shoulder as she waited for him to tell her what to do. Jerking his head in both directions, Jake searched for Ana. He saw her crouched at the lip of the embankment. Ana made a sharp gesture for them to make a run for it.

  “Come on!” he rasped, grabbing Tal’s hand and pulling her out of the doorway. The Kamov had just landed. Wind was whirling around the hilltop like a tornado. The thumping sounds of the blades were
ear shattering, the high whine of the engines on the Russian-made helicopter nearly a shriek.

  “See that woman?” Jake said in Tal’s ear, and motioned toward Ana.

  “Y-yes. A friend?”

  “Yes. Ana Cortina is her name. Run to her, Tal. Do as she tells you.”

  Tal didn’t hesitate. She covered the fifty feet to the embankment in a hurry, leaped down it and disappeared. So did Ana.

  Jake’s heart was pounding. He held the pistol ready and once more checked both directions as he eased out of the door and shut it quietly behind him. Now!

  Digging his feet into the muddy lawn, Jake sprinted for the cover of the bank. Ana was hunkered down there, her pistol drawn, her eyes narrow as she swept the area with her gaze as he ran toward her.

  With a grunt, Jake leaped forward, flying through the air. Landing with a thud, he rolled once and slammed into some brush. Safe! They were safe! Instantly on his feet, he saw Tal crouched down, watching them with wide eyes. Looking to his left, he watched as Ana slid unceremoniously down the muddy bank. She holstered her pistol and offered her hand to Tal.

  “Tal, I’m Lieutenant Ana Cortina. I’m helping Jake on this mission. Are you okay?”

  With a wobbly grin, Tal took Ana’s proffered hand and got to her feet. “Yeah, I want to run like the dickens. Can we get out of here? It’s been a nightmare….” She looked up as Jake approached.

  Ana saw all the lumps and swelling on Tal’s face. She looked over and saw the rage burning in Jake’s eyes. Tal had been badly beaten a number of times, Ana realized.

  “Jake, I’ve called in help,” Ana said as he went over to his sister and gave her a quick hug.

  Nodding, Jake turned and asked, “What’s their ETA—estimated time of arrival?”

  Ana moved past them. They had to get back to the cattle trail and start out of here, pronto. “Maya is sending the Cobra to pick us up down below. She’s also sending an Apache to take on the Kamov, if necessary.”

  “What’s their ETA?” he repeated.

  Ana grimaced. “Forty-five minutes. We’ve got to get down off this hill by then. Can we do it?” It had taken them nearly three hours to climb the hill. Of course, going down was easier, and they had marked the path accordingly, so some speed could be made. Still, Ana looked unhappily at all the underbrush and the thick, gnarled roots that stuck up everywhere in the damp, moist ground. Those roots that would snag their feet and make them trip and fall.

  Jake gripped his sister’s smaller hand and tugged her along with him. “We’re going to try. Tal, can you push hard?” He found the trail and they moved quickly through the brush.

  Nodding her head, Tal whispered, “I’ll do anything to get out of here, Jake. Just show me the way.”

  Ana brought up the rear. Her job was to make sure that Rojas or his guards didn’t come after them. And if they did, she would have to stop them. At all costs, Tal was to be gotten to safety. Ana’s heart ached for the woman. Tal was very pretty and looked a lot like Jake. There was no mistaking the love between them, and Ana smiled to herself. Tal was worth risking their lives for. Ana placed her hand on the iridium phone in her waist belt, knowing she’d have to continue to keep Captain Stevenson, who was piloting the Apache, apprised of their ever-changing situation.

  Heart pounding, Ana hurried to catch up. Jake and Tal were flying through the underbrush like two deer. It was a good thing Tal was athletic and in excellent shape, Ana thought. The hill was steep, and descending it required fluidity and flexibility. If a vine caught the toe of one of their boots, they could go flying and possibly break an ankle or worse in the fall.

  Tal was gasping for breath as they reached the halfway mark down the hill. Jake caught her before she fell. Ana hurried toward them. It had taken them twenty-five minutes to reach this point. Holding his sister under his arm, Jake rasped, “Tal, you okay? How are you holding up?”

  Tal groaned and wrapped her arm around Jake’s narrow waist as she pointed, her mouth open. Then she leaned over and tried to catch her breath.

  Ana ran up to them, her eyes worried as she pinned Jake with her gaze.

  “The Kamov…” she warned, looking back up the hill. The fog was beginning to dissipate as the sun rose higher in the sky. Soon, Ana knew, it would be clear enough to see the entire crown of the hill, and below it, Rainbow Valley. Although they were well hidden beneath the cover of the trees, Ana knew the Kamov would be able to “see” them with its infrared equipment. They were not safe.

  “What about it?” Jake demanded, breathing hard. The helicopter was still on the apron, the rotors turning at a much slower speed than before.

  Worriedly, Ana said, “If they find out Tal’s gone, they’ll send the Kamov up after us. They’ll use IR—infrared—and locate us.”

  Jake nodded. “Then let’s hope they don’t check to see if Tal’s in her room or not.” He glanced down at his sister. Her face was pale. Perspiration dotted her gleaming flesh, accentuating all the bruises and swelling. He wanted to kill whoever had done this to her.

  Ana looked at her watch. “Go on. I’m going to check in with Captain Stevenson via the iridium phone and see if they’re on schedule. I’ll catch up with you in a minute.”

  Jake nailed Ana with a dark look. “Be careful.”

  Giving him a slight smile, Ana pulled the phone from her belt. “Always.”

  “Come on, Tal,” Jake coaxed, taking his sister’s hand in his and leading her down the hill on the barely visible trail.

  “Black Jaguar One, this is Black Jaguar Three. Over.” Ana hunkered down in the brush, one knee pressed to the rich, damp earth, the satellite phone against her ear. She waited impatiently for the satellite link to establish.

  “Black Jaguar Three, this is One. What’s your situation? Over.”

  The reassuring, husky voice of her commanding officer made Ana feel a tad better. The link was scratchy. In the mountains, it always was. “We’ve got the package. We’re halfway down the hill. We should reach the base in twenty minutes. What’s your ETA? Over.”

  “Black Jaguar Three, that’s good news. We’ll reach you in twenty minutes. Over.”

  “Roger. There’s an old ravine at the base. The only time it has water in it is during the spring flood. There’s enough room in it to land the Cobra. Do you have the ravine marked on your map? Over.” Ana knew that the days and weeks they had spent painstakingly mapping all the nooks and crannies of the region would pay off now. She waited for a response, sure that Maya’s copilot was looking the terrain over on her HUD—heads up display—in the cockpit. All the knowledge of terrain they’d amassed over the years was fed into the computer software aboard the Apache for quick access at times like this.

  “Black Jaguar Three, that’s a roger. We’ve got the ravine buttonholed. There’s one spot where the ravine opens out into a plain. That’s where you want us to land? Over.”

  Grinning, Ana said, “Roger that, Black Jaguar One.” She heard a sound that sent fear rippling through her. “Hold on…” she told Captain Stevenson. Lifting her head, Ana heard shouts. Men were yelling. They were angry. In a flash, Ana realized what they were upset about: they’d found that Tal was missing.

  Ana’s heart thudded in her chest. Coldness shot through her. “Black Jaguar One, they’ve found the package missing. That means the Black Shark will take to the air and start a search with IR for us. We’re going to be hunted down. Over.”

  “Roger. We’re redlining it right now. Our ETA will be…ten minutes. Try to hang on….”

  Throat constricting, Ana whispered, “Roger. Black Jaguar Three out.” With shaking hands, she rose and placed the iridium phone back into her belt. She heard the Kamov’s engines begin to shriek. It was getting ready for takeoff speed—to hunt them down.

  Wheeling around, Ana took off at a sprint. She leaped over small bushes, twisted around larger ones and dodged the ever-present trees that grew thickly along the cow path. She couldn’t see Jake yet. Breath tore from her. Her lungs fel
t on fire as she pushed herself to full speed, hurtling down the hill. She must tell Jake what had happened.

  Jake heard the crashing of underbrush behind him. Friend or enemy? He wasn’t sure. It should be Ana, but he couldn’t take the risk. Halting Tal, he placed her behind a tree.

  “Wait there,” he ordered heavily. He pulled out his pistol and moved rapidly toward the sound. Jake heard the Kamov powering up. Had it gotten the cocaine, and was it now flying toward Bolivia? He hoped so. Jogging up the path a short way, he saw Ana running full speed down it. Her face was tense. He saw fear in her expression as she bobbed and leaped, running toward him at full speed.

  Holding his hand out, he caught her as she nearly crashed into him. She gripped him, sobbing for breath.

  “They know Tal’s missing!” Ana sobbed. She stood up, her knees wobbly with fear. “The Kamov is coming after us!”

  “Damn!” Jake rasped. He released Ana and looked up toward the patchy blue sky above the trees. “Have you contacted Captain Stevenson?”

  Leaning over, her hands on her knees, head bowed, Ana gasped, “Yes…her ETA…is ten minutes. They’re trying to get here…to save us. I don’t know…” Ana straightened. Jake’s eyes were wide with understanding. “I don’t know if they’ll be here in time…. We’re as good as dead….”

  “Then we need to split up,” Jake ordered, breathing in gulps. “I’ll stay here, you take Tal down to where you’re going to meet the Cobra.” He gripped Ana’s arm when he saw protest in her eyes. “There’s no time to argue about this, dammit. Just go, Ana. Take Tal with you. Now.”

  “No…Jake….”

  He gripped her to him, their faces inches apart. “Listen to me, Ana. You get my sister out of here. Make sure she’s safe. Do you understand?” His gaze dug mercilessly into her wide eyes. Her lips parted. How badly he wanted to kiss her one more time. Maybe the last time.

  Ana pulled out of his grip. Quickly, she took off her chalina and threw it around his neck, tying it so it wouldn’t fall off. The ends trailed across his chest. “You come back to me, Jake Travers,” she whispered fiercely, her eyes brimming with tears. “You hear me? Do you?” Her voice cracked with pain, with terror. They’d be lucky if any of them survived the minutes ahead.