Protect Me

by Selma Wolfe

This was the problem with having a genius for a - whatever. He knew all sorts of things about employment law and culpability, or at least pretended he did.

  “You’re not my employee anymore, therefore you are in no way responsible for my well-being and have no recourse for controlling my behavior,” Rick had told her over the kitchen table. Hope had looked over at Boran for help, but Boran had just shrugged and told Rick to bring samples from his lab in case they needed leverage. Rick had been so thrilled at the unexpected backup that he’d jumped right up and gotten the stuff before Hope had a chance to really get started with a decent argument.

  Also, she had no idea what she could say to convince him.

  Rick shoved his upper body into the space between the two front seats and craned his neck around to stare at Hope. “Don’t be upset,” he told her plaintively. “Everything will be fine. I just can’t let you go off on your own, you know? You wouldn’t let me do that either.”

  Hope glared at him, ignoring the part of her that wanted to take his hand and thread their fingers together.

  “Lean back so your seat belt fits properly.”

  Boran shot an amused glance at her as Rick sighed and obeyed. Hope gave him the squinty eye too.

  “Don’t you grin at me. As of right now, the only one in my good books is Trinity.” Small mercies - Trinity had realized the need for one of them to remain safe at the mansion with a cell phone glued to her ear. Well, relatively safe, they’d all seen recently just how vulnerable a civilian’s house could be. There was only so much you could do until you were attacked. But Trinity was holed up in the panic room, so Hope felt confident that at least one of them would make it through the evening intact.

  She wasn’t so sure about the rest of them, and it grated her nerves.

  “Okay, so, what’s the plan when we get there?” Rick piped up from the back seat, clearly trying to get Hope talking so he could try to wrangle his way back into her good graces.

  “I told you, we’ll need to evaluate the situation once we get there. Of course, you’d know that if you had any, say, experience.” No such luck for Rick.

  He refused to be daunted. She loved it and hated it. “Yeah, I heard you. But you’ve looked up maps of the place online; I know you’ve got some basic plan in place. I know you.” Hope forced herself not to jump as fingers landed on the back of her neck and traced their way down to her collarbone. She told herself that Boran would notice if she shook Rick off, and didn’t move.

  Hope turned to look out the window at the dark streets, a blur of headlights and white lines. If she were a different kind of person, she’d probably feel scared right now. As it was, she felt calm. Settled. This was what she was good at, what she knew how to do. And she had the luxury of backup.

  She frowned. The one discordant note in the symphony was Rick’s presence. Boran was a comfort. Rick was the worst kind of liability - the kind she couldn’t afford to lose.

  The car slowed and Boran veered into a neighborhood to park.

  “This isn’t Farthing,” Rick said, sounding curious rather than critical. “But - oh, of course. We’ll walk in so they don’t see us coming.”

  “Again with the we and the us,” Hope grumbled, but she nodded to him as they all climbed out of the car and looked around.

  They were in the middle of a decent neighborhood full of townhouses and space-age playsets that looked like the product of tree shade engineers and neighborhood workgroups, totally unused. Hope felt a scowl settle over her expression as the three of them fell into step on the sidewalk and started to walk. She hated it when the bad guys moved in on normal people going about their everyday lives. It was one thing to cause trouble for people like her and Thabo, who knew what they were getting into. Involving people with kids and families, innocents like Iseul - that just wasn’t on.

  A warm shoulder bumped up against hers. Hope turned and Rick smiled at her briefly before turning his attention back to scanning their surroundings.

  Even when he was worried and out of his element, Rick still had a smile left for her. Hope felt humbled and strengthened all at once. She resolved for the hundredth time to protect him, and pushed away the despair that threatened to overwhelm her fragile optimism. There just wasn’t going to be any way for her to watch Boran’s back, protect Rick, save Iseul, and not get dead all at the same time. Something was going to give, and Hope would just have to pray that nobody needed her when it happened.

  Boran abruptly stopped and jerked his chin toward a boxy building that looked like an abandoned warehouse in the dim light. All but one of the surrounding street lamps had burned out. Hope cynically assumed that the burn-out had been aided and abetted by their friends inside.

  “I don’t see any guards,” Rick whispered. “That’s good, right?”

  Hope and Boran exchanged a look.

  “It would be good, if there were no guards,” Boran said, not unkindly. He pointed to a nondescript van parked just at the edge of the building, almost completely hidden in the shadow. “Unfortunately, that is not the case. There are guards in there…” His fingers moved to indicate a second van stationed a little further down the street. “And there.”

  As Rick nodded, Hope tuned everything out and dove inside herself for a moment, hunting for the right course of action.

  The area was quiet and the building was big but not huge; large enough to have an unpleasant number of people waiting, but not an army. And the lack of security indicated overconfidence. It was possible that Gouws’ men were betting on Rick calling the shots and walking in there unaided.

  Possible.

  “Alright.” Rick and Boran looked around at her. “Here’s what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna walk right into this trap through the front door.”

  There was a brief pause, and then Boran said, “I do not like this plan.”

  Rick looked like he was too loyal to agree but desperately wanted to. Hope grinned, showing too many teeth.

  “Oh ye of little faith. No, listen. Why mess with the guys outside if we don’t have to? They won’t be expecting three of us, that’s for sure. So Boran, you’ll be the distraction.” She pulled a small bag off her shoulder, unzipped it, and handed him an unlit flare. Other than that, she knew Boran packed his own heat. “Any kind of distraction you want.”

  She turned to Rick. “Then you and I go in and grab Iseul. I’ll take point and you’ll do the actual grabbing, alright? Think you can handle that?” Behind Rick, Boran indicated that he was going to do a quick sweep of the area before they went in, and wandered off.

  Hope had been expecting instant capitulation given how little she wanted him anywhere near the project, but Rick stared at her in such deep concentration that for a moment Hope actually held her breath.

  Then he shook his head definitively and said, “Nope, can’t do it. You’re the one who’ll have to actually get her out.”

  Hope wracked her brains, trying to figure out what flaw Rick’s brilliant mind had seen in her perfect plan. “But why? This makes complete sense. There’s no reason that…”

  “Ex-boyfriend carrying out an ex-girlfriend?” Rick shook his head solemnly. “Bad form. Can’t do it. It’ll all end in tears.”

  Hope stared at him and wondered how it was possible for someone so brilliant to be so deeply, impressively stupid.

  “For God’s sake, Rick, it’s a rescue mission, not wedding pictures,” she said. The last word jolted out of her mouth awkwardly as she realized what she’d just said. Hope was admittedly no expert at long-term relationships, but she was fairly sure that mentioning marriage at this stage was a time-honored way to end one. “Uh… I - that was just - I didn’t mean…”

  To her complete surprise, Rick’s wide-eyed face suddenly broke out into a brilliant grin. He threw out a hand and caught his weight on it for a second as he lunged across the sidewalk to give Hope a quick, bruising kiss on the lips before moving back to his original location.

  She just blinked and watched him, almost used to
the feeling of being totally lost in the maze of Rick’s actions and motivations. Well, there were worse places to be, after all.

  Steady brown eyes met hers. “You’re the practical one, Lasser. I’m the impulsive idiot. So I’m telling you right now - anything I can make happen, anything within my power - just say the word and it’s yours. Anything.”

  He really needed to stop doing that. It made her brain shut off when he did.

  For the first time in a very long but not nearly long enough time, Hope felt a faint blush set in around her cheekbones as she dropped her gaze to the blueprint and cleared her throat. “I - um. Okay? Thank you.”

  When she glanced up through her eyelashes, Rick was still smiling at her.

  Hope breathed out a long sigh and pushed all those pleasant thoughts down until she was back in a game plan state of mind. She decided to use Rick’s words for some immediate good.

  “Then I’m asking you, trust me on this.” She stepped forward, out of her comfort zone, and tangled their fingers together. “I need you to take care of Iseul so I can take care of you. Can you do that for me?”

  Rick’s fingers tightened around hers momentarily, and then he sighed and nodded.

  “Alright. I just - I just wish…”

  “You can’t be brilliant at everything,” Hope said, as gently as she could. “We’ve all got our specialties. If you’re a Jack of all trades, you’re a master of none.”

  Rick’s mouth twisted in a wry smile. “Doesn’t stop me wishing,” he said.

  “You can wish for the moon as long as it doesn’t interfere with the mission,” Hope told him, and let his hand drop with a final squeeze.

  “Things look pretty good.” Boran circled back around to them, his body language purposefully casual, hands in his pockets and his shoulders slouched. As he reached Hope and Rick, his posture straightened up again and his gaze regained its sharp focus. Hope found herself giving him a small smile of approval; those came easier these days, and she was very glad to have him with her on this job.

  “Hey, thanks for - for everything,” she said in an undertone.

  Boran’s eyes widened in surprise for a moment before he ducked his head and said, “Not a problem,” in a muffled, embarrassed voice.

  Praise and gratitude were luxuries that their business didn’t bother with much. Hope wondered how much she’d changed in her time with Rick, and was surprised to find that the thought didn’t bother her.

  “Alright, let’s get moving. Boran, you’re in first in case there’s a welcome party waiting inside the door - you start the distraction play the instant we’re inside, just don’t forget to tell us which direction to head in.” Boran gave her a little salute; she rolled her eyes tolerantly. “Rick, you’re with me. Got all your stuff?”

  He ran his hands over his uniform of work pants and a loose, breathable shirt, checking that everything was in its place. Hope followed his hand as it drew down over the small of his back. She didn’t let herself focus on the long, lean lines of his body or the handsome angles of his face, thrown into relief by the shadow from the street lamp.

  “Knife, Kevlar, samples from the lab, and bear mace.”

  “What? Bear mace? No - I mean, it’s basically the same thing, oleoresin capsicum derivatives…”

  “I know. But bear mace sounds more badass than pepper spray, don’t you think?”

  Rick grinned, a line of white teeth that gleamed in the small amount of light. Hope blinked. Off to the side Boran buried his face in his palm - Hope wasn’t sure if he was despairing or trying to hide his amusement.

  “Clearly this mission can’t help but succeed,” Boran said after a moment, and now he wasn’t even trying to stifle his laughter.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  The three of them walked up to the warehouse door in a wedge, Boran in front, Hope to the right behind him, and Rick to her left. Her focus narrowed in until the windowless front of the building filled her vision and the sound of their footsteps echoed in her ears. Both arms brushed her sides as she casually made contact with her gear, a final check that everything was in place.

  They were as ready as they’d ever be.

  Hope tilted a final glance at Rick, who had his chin up and was staring forward determinedly, but honestly, she wasn’t even worried about Rick losing his nerve. Probably she should have been; probably she should have been watching him like a hawk. But she trusted Rick now, she realized, and she couldn’t do a damn thing about it.

  They didn’t break stride as they walked quickly up to the door and Boran grasped the handle. He paused for a fraction of a second with his hand on the knob to give Hope time to call it off. Hope said nothing. There was undoubtedly somebody watching them already. They needed to take advantage of what little element of surprise they had.

  Boran’s wrist twisted. The door opened and he darted inside. Hope rushed up toward the doorframe to hover outside it. She put out a hand and found Rick crowded next to her; pushed him more firmly behind her.

  “Come on, it’s empty,” Boran’s shaggy dark head appeared in the doorway and he gestured them inside. Hope exhaled in relief and stepped forward, even as she swiveled her head to stare around suspiciously. Surely it couldn’t be this easy. Could it?

  She took in her surroundings as quickly as possible. They were standing in a three-pronged hallway with one door in front of them, and hallways branching off to either side. Hope stared through the little window in the door but she couldn’t see anyone waiting beyond it. Either side of the hall was empty. She tried to think back to the blueprint she’d memorized, but it didn’t help. The building was as standard and industrial as they came, each side a mirror image of the other.

  “Okay,” she tried to regroup as Rick waited for her word, “We should probably go…”

  “I saw people down that end,” Boran cut in unexpectedly. She didn’t even have time to question him; he was already moving off to the right. “They must be running to tell someone. Maybe they didn’t expect you to show. Go, go! I will chase them and distract them!”

  “But I don’t see - ” Hope tried to grab Boran’s arm but he dodged away and ran determinedly down the hall. Her fist clenched on empty air; she wanted to yell after him but couldn’t afford to draw attention to their location.

  She sank her weight down into a crouch momentarily and then hissed out a breath and straightened up.

  “What’s going on?” Rick whispered. His face was pale, but his dark eyes were steady.

  Hope stared at Boran’s retreating back and watched him disappear around the corner in the distance. She hadn’t seen anything, and yet something had sent Boran haring off down the hall. Already things were starting to spiral out of control, and they’d only just stepped inside the door.

  Time to move.

  “I don’t know, but we need to get going,” she said in an undertone, moving in close and pushing Rick forward. He went willingly with a hint of a smile in spite of the seriousness of the situation.

  Together they hurried down the left branch of the hallway. Giving in to her instincts, Hope pulled out her gun, but kept her finger off the trigger. It would keep her from making any mistakes in the case of a surprise - Hope never wanted to be the person to pull the trigger too soon. But the solid weight of the gun in her hand was comforting, and it looked intimidating. Sometimes that was enough. Sometimes.

  Rick was doing his best, but he didn’t know how to move quietly. It was lucky that they were going for speed rather than silence. Even his sneakers were clapping echoes off the close walls in the narrow, dark hallway. Emergency lights made it possible for them to see where they were going, but not much further.

  “Maybe this is the rabid paranoia talking, but do you get the feeling we’re being funneled?” Rick inquired.

  Hope gave a strangled laugh. Yeah, she did, but there wasn’t a thing they could do about it. Not now. The only way out was through.

  “Keep moving,” she directed. Rick flashed a look at her and even i
n the darkness she caught the arch of his eyebrow and the tug of a wry smile at the corner of his mouth. He knew. He was too smart not to know, damn him.

  In the half-second between when Hope’s boot hit the ground silently and Rick’s foot fell toward the floor to complete a step, she heard something.

  She threw out a hand into Rick’s chest and the two of them stopped, not breathing. Dead silence, and then…

  “Yes,” Hope hissed. Through the wall, she heard the sound of a muffled shout. It could have been anyone, but there was a distinctly feminine lilt to the noise, and Hope knew enough of Gouws to know that he wouldn’t hire any women on his teams. It had to be Iseul.

  She grabbed the keychain flashlight strapped to her belt and didn’t bother to remove it, just snapped the light on for a moment. The thin beam illuminated about twenty feet of dirty linoleum in front of them. And at the end, a door.

  Hope clicked the flashlight off again and let it hang.

  “Ready?” she said, the vibration of her voice more a suggestion of sound than an actual spoken word.

  She watched Rick draw in a long breath and simultaneously slide his hands over his gear in a final check. He looked around at her; nodded. Hope shoved down a wave of affection for this brave, incredible man and gently bumped her shoulder into his. It was the sign of an ally more than that of a lover, but right now, that was all she could afford to be.

  Rick understood. His white smile broke the darkness and he darted out a hand to rest at her hip for just a moment.

  “Behind me,” Hope mouthed, and moved out in front quietly. She walked up to the edge of the door and paused next to the slit. Here, her shadow wouldn’t give her away, and she could hear more easily.

  From the next room, she heard a familiar voice give a shocked gasp. Hope’s heart lurched. She couldn’t help but picture lovely, kind Iseul trussed up and terrified, at the mercy of some heartless predator.

  There was an audible intake of breath from the other room and Hope’s hand started drifting toward the doorknob.

  Then, through the door, she heard Iseul speak.