Raging Fire (Guarded Secrets Book 4)

by Sara Schoen

  I glanced over my legible notes from Katya again. There were more Russian words on the paper than I would have liked with question marks next to them because I hadn’t understood what she said and she hadn’t known the English word for them. No wonder Renegade had acted as her translator for the Gorod mission. Her English was good, but she slipped up a few times, which made it difficult to have a conversation.

  What little I could understand had been helpful. She had a location in the northern part of the state, where cities were few and far between. She had explained where she shipped weapons would most likely not be the location of the base, but it would be close. After working against cartels for the better part of seven years, I knew they preferred to keep drop off locations separate from their headquarters. It provided a limited protective barrier between dealings and where they kept everything stored. They wouldn’t want the police to intrude on their base, but a warehouse a fair distance away wouldn’t be a total loss.

  Though my mission had almost been lost while I wrangled Katya into giving me information. I had taken a huge risk by asking her. She could blow the mission for me complete with just an accidental slip, and it was imperative that Demon and Night Stripe didn’t know the full details of what I was doing until after. I shook my head lightly to refocus. With so many of my notes useless from the doctor’s handwriting I had, I needed to focus on Katya’s conversation again. Where exactly did I need to go and what would I look for?

  “I thought Sara would contact me,” Katya said in her thick accent. She was one of the few people who called Night Stripe by her real name, and it was one of the only words I had managed to understand. This isn’t going to be as easy as I hoped.

  “I’m working with her now, but I’m playing catch up so I can give more details to Sharp Shooter. We want to end this as fast as possible so you’re out of danger.” The words left my lips so easily I barely had to think about them. I repeated, with slight rephrasing, what Night Stripe told me in the training room after getting Katya’s name from her. It had been like pulling teeth. Usually, she was so forthcoming with information, but Sharp Shooter’s threat had really gotten to her.

  “Catch up?”

  “Yeah...” I groaned as I ran my fingers through my long, red hair. How was I going to explain an American euphemism to her? “It’s kind of like you’re in a race and you want to meet with the person in front of you. You have to catch up to them.”

  “Ah,” she said with an interested tone. “Interesting. Well, I can tell you what Sara knows and the new information I get when Demon returns. Can you pass it onto Sara when we finish?”

  “No, I can’t. I’m leaving for Washington soon. I don’t think I’ll see her before I go.”

  “They are sending you to Washington? Sara believed that Sharp Shooter would wait a little longer before sending you in. Demon will be excited to hear he’s no longer waiting.”

  A chill slithered down my spine. If she told Demon, then he’d tell Night Stripe and eventually someone would come to Washington to find me. “You can’t tell Demon.”

  “Why not? He will be thrilled.”

  “You can’t tell him because I’m not going after them yet, I’m just going to build our intelligence. If you tell him then it will put me at risk as well as the mission. You have to wait until I figure out what’s going on there.”

  Katya’s voice came through muffled as if she’d turned to talk to someone else. I heard her speak in Russian for a moment before she came back to me. “Well, you’re in luck. We may have something to help you with your travel.”

  “What is it?

  “We’ve set up a trade with this Harley.” His name rolled off her tongue with displeasure. “He’s told us where to send the supply. Though I beg you to remember this will not be his exact location, but it may be close by. My father preferred to keep them separate just in case, and I follow the same way now. It’s smart for them, but dangerous for you if you’re unsure of what will be there.”

  “I expect the worst. Just tell me what you have.”

  “I’m told he’s near a banki ozero.”

  My eyebrows scrunch in confusion, stopping me from writing my notes. My left eye squinted slightly as the corner of my mouth turned upward in a ‘what the hell?’ expression. “I’m sorry, what? He’s where?”

  No wonder my notes were so messed up.

  “I’m sorry, it was given to me in Russian. In your language, it means Bank Loch, I believe. It should be found in the north near mountains.”

  “Loch? Like the Lochness Monster? That doesn’t make any sense, Katya!”

  “Don’t yell,” she snapped. “If you want a better translation ask Renegade, but if you want my help, this is what I can give you. He told me he’s in the mountains to the north, and there’s an airstrip near the loch where I can send his supplies to once my payment has been received. I plan to hold it for a little longer since he’s late on the payment, and that should give you plenty of time to get there before I do.”

  “You’re going? That’s dangerous.”

  “Unfortunately, it’s a part of the business. Demon is coming with me in case I need help, along with a few other agents in case he worries about being seen.”

  “You mean recognized.”

  Katya groaned loudly on the other end of the call. “Da dévočka.”

  I didn’t bother to ask for a translation on that, her annoyed tone told me that it was either an insult or a quip for correcting her. Either way, it didn’t matter to me. “When are you guys coming? And don’t answer in Russian,” I added before she could be tempted.

  “Then don’t correct me again.”

  “Deal.”

  “We will be there in a week, on March fifteenth according to Demon’s notes. Will you be there then?”

  “Yes, I will be. Don’t tell Demon and don’t look for me. I don’t know what’s going on here, but between Demon and I we can figure it out.”

  “I hope you know what you’re doing. Demon advised me not to go, but it would look poorly for a new trading partner if I didn’t. I better not be walking into a trap, Spit Fire. Don’t reveal us and we won’t reveal you.” She paused momentarily, once again I heard Russian being spoken back and forth quickly. I couldn’t keep up with any of it. When she returned she was in a rush. “Demon is returning; I must go if you do not wish for him to know about your arrival at the loch.”

  I hung up without replying, picked up my notes and rushed to my room to pack. Katya had given me everything I needed from her, and then it was time to put everything in motion.

  “A loch?” The word was familiar, it tasted similar to another word I knew rested just on the tip of my tongue. “I have to find a loch in Washington before they arrive in two days. Where would a loch...” I paused for a moment as the word rolled off my tongue again. “More like a lake in Washington. Bank Lake.” The realization sparked a new hope for my mission. I pulled the map of the state closer to me and examined it. I found a lake with a name close to what I needed, Banks Lake. A little may have gotten lost in translation, but at least Katya had come through.

  I skimmed the area surrounding the lake. It covered about twenty-seven miles, which would be too much to search through on foot. I needed to get a closer estimate of where he was before taking off on an almost three-hour trip. I knew he’d want the airstrip and base to be secluded and Katya had said it was in the north so I looked for large areas of land near the mountains, which had a lot of space between towns. My eye caught on a stretch of land above the lake. Plenty of room and there didn’t seem to be any small housing constructions going on there according to the map. It was my best shot, and if I found the airstrip I could lay low and wait for the trade then follow them back to Harley.

  My hands clenched into tight fists at the thought of him. It was only a matter of time now before I could wrap my hands around him and force the life out of him. You can’t get out of this one Harley. Time to face the music.

  Chapter 9


  I walked from the safe house in Easton, Washington to a diner in town in hopes of finding a trucker to hitchhike with to Banks Lake. The Crest View Diner wasn’t what I expected. It had a beach town feeling to it, as if it didn’t truly belong in Easton but on the East Coast shore. It was homey, welcoming, and everyone seemed friendly, at least the ones I interacted with in hopes of getting to my destination did. The waitress even offered to help keep an ear out for me since truckers and travelers would at times come through. She didn’t know how many people would be heading towards Banks Lake today, but it was worth a shot.

  “Come, take a seat.” She gave me a booth to myself on the side of the diner. “How about I work on your order while we wait for someone to come in who can take you.”

  “That would be wonderful. Thank you.” My stomach growled loudly, as if to tell her just how grateful I was for the invitation. Fortunately, I had thought to bring some money with me to pay for breakfast or I would have had to turn down her offer. Typically, CIRA took care of the food on missions by giving us a stipend to use, and the agents would pack light snacks for the lull between events. On longer ones, or during a rather risky mission, some did resort to snatching food from the kitchen. Sometimes it was the only way we could eat. They’d leave money, but the most extreme options were saved for those who were in danger and couldn’t be exposed for long, but sitting at a table in the restaurant gave me the perfect chance to scope out a possible ride, and the waitress seemed more than willing to help.

  I didn’t think hitchhiking was that normal. At least I hoped it wasn’t. It could be dangerous, I was only risking it because I didn’t have another means of transportation and if anything happened I knew I could handle myself. I had a tough exterior, but that didn’t mean when people looked at me they thought I wouldn’t be a problem. That was their mistake.

  A few locals seemed promising from their conversations, all traveling somewhere today, but very few of them were traveling North. So I sat in the diner for a few hours chatting with the waitress, Melinda, and letting the lies flow throughout the conversation easily. At least until a trucker, who was heading north, come through for a quick breakfast. I heard him talking to Melinda as he sat at the bar and ordered his coffee to sip on while he waited for his food. He told her that he was heading to a town just past Electric City, which was close enough for me. It was on the wrong side of the lake from where I believed Harley’s base to be, but closer than the few towns on the correct side. I had a feeling he’d be the best I would get unless I wanted to repeat this again tomorrow. It was either hitch a ride with him or walk, and there was no way in hell I’d walk all the way there.

  “If you’re looking for a co-pilot I know someone heading that way too,” Melinda said to the trucker as she nodded in my direction. “We were hoping someone would show up to take her to Banks Lake. You could drop her off at Electric City when you stop for lunch.”

  The trucker turned in his seat and smiled lightly at me. He had scruff on his chin where a beard was slowly coming in, and his eyes were young even though his gray hair gave away his age. “If you can wait about half an hour, I’ll be happy to have some company on the way to Electric City.”

  I nodded a quick thank you just as Melinda came to collect my plates. I wanted to thank her for her help, but she beat me to it.

  “You don’t have to say anything, and you don’t have to worry about the drive either. Hal will take good care of you. I’ve been looking for people I’ve seen before or had friends from around here. I know you’ll be in safe hands.”

  “Thank you so much. It means a lot to me.”

  “No problem. When you get to your father’s place just be sure to ring here in the morning so I know you made it safe. That’s all the thanks I want.” She smiled at me, without waiting to see if I would agree to her request. From the tone of her voice, I had a strong feeling she actually believed that I was going to see my father. At first I thought she played dumb for my sake, but she seemed pleased to know I’d be with family soon. If only she knew. I guess there wasn’t any harm in letting her hope for the best, and believe a small lie, I just couldn’t help but wonder if she’d make the connection between me and the news reports after word got out about the cartel. I doubted it, but just in case she got curious, she’d have a hard time finding me. I used a fake name and everything. The less anyone knew about me here, the better off I was and the safer they were.

  Hal was true to his word, half an hour later he was ready to go and we were heading down the road. Our stomachs full, bills paid, and both of us looking forward to what the road held in front of us. The conversation flowed easily, and he seemed to buy all the lies I told him about where I was going and why. He was doing his job, taking a shipment to a grocery store upstate, and to him I was going to visit my father. I preferred to play it safe when it came to civilians, make up a story and stick with it, because if anyone started asking questions then it would only cause problems.

  He dropped me off in Electric City, a few miles away from where he was dropping his cargo. After about three hours in a car, I was thrilled to be able to walk around again. When I told him I was looking to head to my father’s house near the lake, Hal agreed to take me as far as he could. At least from Electric City I could catch a boat across the lake instead of swimming through it. Hal seemed to know the area well. He told me that the boat left from a resort and traveled down the river where a new airplane strip had gone in recently. I hoped it would be easy enough to hop onto and figure out if that was the airstrip Katya would use for the trade. How many airstrips could there be? And if I had to go for a short swim it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

  We said a quick goodbye when he dropped me off near the resort before he finally pulled off and let me get back to work. As I watched him drive away, I wondered if this is how Sandstorm felt when I left him while he was undercover. A small piece of me had hoped I could’ve extended my time with Hal, just so I had someone to take my mind off of what could happen when I confronted Harley, but I knew this was for the best. I had to do this alone and to do that I had to focus, despite the deadly outcome, on getting into position to watch the trade tomorrow. The more time I wasted standing here thinking about it, the closer I let Katya get without me being in place.

  Katya was right, her coming here provided a good opportunity for the mission. She would be able to show the legitimacy of their trade line, and I got to figure out where the Cardoza’s base was. I just had to get the trade site first.

  Hal dropped me off at a walking distance from the resort and as it came into view I knew I had my work cut out for me. A single large building loomed over me for the resort, but behind it were smaller ones and to the left was the dock for water sports. The resort rested on Banks Lake, but also had access to a bay. It would alert more people if I tried to take a boat straight from the dock. I’d have to plan well if I couldn’t find another way out of here.

  I walked around the resort and slowly came to realize there wasn’t a ferry service across the river as Hal had made it seem. The resort provided Jet Skis, boats, and other water vessels and toys to their guests. I had two choices, steal one or get a key and then take one. Considering I was sure I had to pay for the rental as well show a hotel guest card and ID, I chose the former to make it easier on myself. In fact, I think I picked the better of the two options, because as I explored the rest of the resort I discovered a small cabin where they kept the overflow supplies and vehicles that needed service. It was a short walk away from the resort, but out of sight enough to where I could have some privacy. All I had to do was block the view of the cameras so no one could trace the theft back to me.

  “Well, I’m sold.” I avoided the cameras easily enough and covered the few aimed at the front entrance with the scattered branches from the trees so the leaves would cover the view in a way that seemed natural. As if all of them had just fallen in sync, I thought sarcastically, but I’d learned a long time ago that no one questioned anything unless they
had to. Most would brush it off as a coincidence and move on, which worked for me. While I was covered from the outside, I had no way of knowing what would be on the inside, but figured I’d deal with it when I got that far. I couldn’t worry about it until it became a problem.

  I kneeled down beside the door and picked the lock with ease. I shoved the door open and glanced around, careful to check for cameras. When I didn’t see any, I rummaged through the building to find a camping set, including a tent and the supplies to build it with, and the keys to the Jet Skis outside. While I had other choices of transportation, I figured one Jet Ski would go unnoticed if it went missing for a few days. A boat would be a little more obvious. Slowly, but surely, it was all coming together.

  “Just check the cameras so we can leave.” A chill shot up my spine as the voice met my ears. They were approaching from the back of the building, slowly coming closer to discovering me. Someone must have noticed the cameras were out and sent someone to take a look. I’d lose my cover, along with any chance I had of getting away unseen if I wasn’t careful.

  Grabbing the camping bag and my duffle bag I ran from the building and into the surrounding trees. I watched as two security guards came around the building. I couldn’t hear much of what they were saying, but they took an interest in the door being open and radioed to someone on their walkie-talkie. They must have thought everything else seemed normal because after they removed the branch I used to cover the camera’s view, they walked away. Once they were a fair distance away, I made my way to the docks and took the Jet Ski that lined up with the number on the key, heading once again into the unknown as I got one step closer to completing my personal mission.

  Chapter 10

  The wind felt good as it caressed my face and blew through my hair, it made me feel free for the first time in years. I did what I had to, and I knew I wouldn’t regret it, even if I lived long enough for Sharp Shooter to force me into giving a formal apology to the resort. As if he’d ever find out I stole it…well, technically I borrowed it because I did plan on returning it, just not anytime soon. They’d get it when I finished with Harley and used it as an escape exit. Even as I looked back to see if anyone noticed the missing Jet Ski, which no one seemed to since no one was watching or coming after me, I knew I wouldn’t have cared if they did.