by James, Ranay
Mason checked the clip in his gun just to have something constructive to do with his hands besides punching the closest tree. “And besides if she screws this up we will have two females to go in after. I don’t have to tell you how thrilled I’d be about that prospect.”
Robert snorted. Now, Robert thought, quite exasperated, that statement is Classic Mason. “Go back to camp. I’ll bring her to you,” Robert ordered. Maybe he did need to usurp Mason’s authority after all.
Both men turned at the rustling of the jungle just beyond their line of vision, Mason’s gun already drawn.
“Mason, don’t shoot. Guys, we need help here.” Barbara’s soft request floated back through the darkness only second’s before they reappeared in the campfire light, Dark Man was supported on Reese and Barbara’s shoulders.
He closed his eyes praying she had not heard the conversation. Otherwise, there was going to be hell to pay.
“They are both hurt,” she said to Mason as Robert took her place in supporting one of their team.
“What happened?” Robert asked as they sat Dark Man down.
“Snake or scorpion, not sure which,” Reese supplied. “Whatever it was the damn thing got us both.” He too collapsed into the seat next to Dark Man and quickly ripped open the material of his right pant leg to survey the damage.
“Barbara? What about you? Did it get you, too?” Mason asked worried, almost wishing it had to keep her here, but relieved she was unharmed.
She shook her head. “I’m good.”
She knew they were loosing valuable time, and she was unhappy about the turn of events. Losing two men right at this juncture could be critical to the success or failure of this mission, especially these two. They were the sniper cover. Now, more than ever, she needed to get into that compound.
She sighed heavily. She had mixed emotions about what she was about to do as she turned to Mason. “Looks like you get your wish. Come on. We’re blowing precious time.” She was standing only inches from Mason. “However, if you so much as whiff that macho bull shit my direction, Mason, I will tie you to a tree and maybe, just maybe, come back to get you on your birthday. Do you understand me, McKinnon?”
Mason quickly calculated her threat and deducted it was credible enough. He had seen her fight. She was formidable when she was just practicing. Angry enough, he would never doubt her ability to try to follow through. She would never succeed. Nevertheless, he wasn’t going to push it. His birthday was in April, and months away.
“Not, one word,” she repeated.
He nodded following her into the night.
Chapter 18
She was silent as she moved through the jungle and approached the backside of the villa compound. Mason was singularly impressed at her stealth, proud even. She was ninja-like in her abilities. He recognized her technique as the ancient Japanese martial art form of ninpo. Few ever mastered the art of nimpo and those who did were very silent about their accomplishments. Maybe she was, he wondered. However, he did not really think this was the proper venue to ask.
He signaled for them to halt and pointed to his eyes and then at the top of the fifteen foot wall surrounding the backside of the grounds.
Camera, he mouthed.
She saw it through the night vision goggles, nodding her understanding. It made number three along the wall. Not many considering the length of this barrier. She figured Del Torres must be banking on fear of his reputation and the jungle to safeguard him. Under normal circumstances those would probably be enough. However, this was not normal and how well she knew the fact as she shimmied up a tree and then dropped soundlessly onto the wall. Straddling it, she place their own video camera along the top of the eighteen inch barrier. They would need some video feed to loop back into the compound’s surveillance system tomorrow evening if they ever hoped to come back out alive.
As they made their way around, both were seeing just how heavily Del Torres was depending on technology to guard his interests. Until then, they had not seen a single patrol on the exterior perimeter or on the wall itself. No dogs either, thank goodness, which was very unusual. This definitely played into their favor while upping the chances of success. Dogs complicated things.
Right then, Mason was the only thing complicating her life. He was only inches from her, their thighs touching as they crouched in the jungle undergrowth.
They sat quietly for a moment listening.
The air was just a little too calm for a man who should be expecting a rescue. Mason was beginning to wonder if Del Torres was playing it loose. His gut was usually right, and it was telling him they had been handed a gift.
He whispered very closely to her ear, understanding voices carry much further on the night air. “I’m beginning to think Del Torres doesn’t have a clue we’re coming. The whole compound feels far too relaxed.”
The laughter traveling over the wall punctuated his words as a card game was in full swing.
“Do you suppose he could be that arrogant?” She was so close that she could feel the heat coming off his body bringing with it a subtle hint of male mixed with adrenaline. She usually hated the smell of testosterone-laden sweat. He just smelled healthy, viral, and prime.
“Well, if Jacqueline was taking Jesse out for an extended holiday perhaps Del Torres doesn’t feel the kid will be missed until the day passes Josh was supposed to get her back.”
“Possibly. Here, put these on.” She handed him a set of rubber waders to place over his own boots.
Mason turned them over to look at the strange configuration on the bottom. He raised a questioning brow.
“Pig’s feet,” she explained.
“Oh, I get it. I’m an animal.” He grinned sheepishly at her.
She smiled, nodding her head. “Well, yeah, but totally beside the point. It will throw them off if they come to investigate. It will look like a herd of feral swine came through. It should cover us tonight and our retreat tomorrow night as well.”
“Brilliant. So if they hear anything they will just think it is the pigs coming back to forage.”
She nodded. Ensuring the cover would be as authentic as possible, she laid bait out for the feral pigs which, hopefully, would soon come along. She desperately needed the diversion. She could get in on her own, but a distraction was all the better. It was the old divert and distract tactic allowing her to slip in undetected. Getting out was usually the tricky part. However, she had ways there as well. It was just not something she usually resorted to except in dire emergencies, which she hoped this situation did not turn into one.
As if on cue the first swine arrived grunting loudly as she began to forage very close to the main gate. It was a mother and several young piglets.
Perfect, she thought. Fate was smiling on them.
She motioned for Mason to lean in so she could talk. “I’m going to distract the guard. I know you are going to protest, but I need you to stay here just in case I’m not able to get in and out successfully. Someone has to know.”
“You’re right. I don’t like it, but I understand.”
He didn’t like it, but was in agreement. Both being caught would be a disaster, and there was a greater chance of success with one as opposed to two going in under the cover of darkness. This was her area of expertise, not his. He was good at blowing stuff up. Not exactly subtle, so he would remain behind and hide in the dense underbrush and draw fire away from her should it become necessary.
“I’ll see you at the appointed place and time. Be careful,” he cautioned pursing his lips. He really was not feeling good about how this was unfolding, yet he understood this was actually the most logical decision. On impulse he reached out, pulled her to him and kissed her, quickly and passionately. “Go now before I get all macho and you have to tie me to that tree.”
She smiled and nodded once, then drifted silently off into the night. Leaving was hard. She really wanted to stay in the warm and safe embrace of her partner in this crazy endeavor. However, there was pr
ecious little night left and delaying any longer could be disastrous should dawn break and they not be miles from the compound. This was her job and like it or not she was committed to saving this little girl. She had not been able to save them all before. Nevertheless, this time, she would not fail the team, Jesse, or herself.
Barbara slipped up on the pigs and grabbed one of the piglets. It began to squeal loudly in protest just as she had hoped. It was just the distraction she needed as she saw the compound gate open and the night watchmen coming to investigate. Mason sharply inhaled as he watched her toss the piglet into the opening and it run for cover inside the grounds, taking the guard and several others along with it. They were distracted just as she said they would be.
Mason crossed his fingers as he watched her slip through the gates just as they were closing, praying the camera did not catch her. The mother was fierce as she rammed the wrought iron in a futile attempt to reach her baby. One of the guards fired a shot up into the air in an attempt to frighten the sow away. It worked as she and her litter took off into the night. The mamma would come back for a second time, and when she did, it would give them the edge of the distraction and a verifiable, logical noise outside the gate which they would need to make their retreat back to camp.
Barbara knew all this, he thought, as he felt his admiration for her deepen. She was bright, beautiful, and she was getting deep under his skin.
Quickly making use of the commotion, Mason eased his way back and retreated to the rendezvous point. She was now beyond his grasp and behind enemy lines. He would not see her again until she dropped back over the wall at the designated spot some one hundred yards back down the wall and very close to the jungle’s interior edge. They had less than one hour before the opportunity for escape was reduced to nearly zero, and he hoped the cameras they placed would go undetected throughout the daylight hours. Tonight the wait was going to be excruciating, and the only upside was any noise either one made would likely be attributed to the piglet inside the compound or the mother and litter outside. It was a move he had never witnessed and was not likely to forget.
Tossing the hook onto the wall and draping the rope on the other side, he prepared the only means of escape for her. That done, he settled in for what he was beginning to feel would be the longest thirty-three minutes of his life.
Chapter 19
Barbara eased her way past the guards as they ran across the courtyard in pursuit of the piglet. The prospect of tender succulent pig roasting on a spit was the topic of lively conversation as they chased and laughed at the misses and near catches.
Mason’s hunch was dead on target. This group had no clue they were knocking at their doorstep and two breaths away from storming the compound. Scanning the second floor, she quickly spotted Jesse’s ball cap.
"Good girl," she whispered.
There was no easy way to scale the side of the villa and enter through her window from the ground without being quickly seen. However, she allowed her eyes to travel upwards and there was a very nice ledge on the third floor concealed in a deep shadow that she could get to by way of the roof. She saw no other alternative as she shimmied up the large tree limb overhanging the roof top.
There was another camera pointed directly at the hacienda. She wondered how many more were scattered around. She had to get inside the camera room and locate the exterior and interior camera locations. Without those they were doomed to failure. Pulling out the crude map that Agent Vega sent at risk to himself, she slipped on the night vision goggles to look at it. The camera room was in a small area just above the room where Jesse was being held.
How lucky was that? She breathed a sigh of relief. She could not get inside. However, she might be able to see into the room and get a feel for the number of cameras scattered around the grounds and inside the house. Snipping the wires of the camera in the tree, she tied in a looping device which would work nicely until she could return to retrieve it. The security feed would now look as if there was nothing amiss. That done, she crawled on her belly further out on the limb. Looping her knees around the limb, she inverted upside down. Free hanging by her legs, it left her hands free. She quickly scrawled a note to Jesse and put it into the dart blower aiming for the window ledge.
It was a direct hit and seconds later she saw the little girl go to the window, retrieve the message, and read it. If Jesse understood what Barbara needed her to do, she was to put her cap on and then take it back off. She was asking a lot from the child.
First and foremost Barbara asked her to destroy the message so there would not be any risk of exposure. She had asked Jesse to be brave and strong and know they were coming for her the following night. She had instructed Jesse to feign illness after she ate her supper so no one would think anything of her being silent in her rooms after dark. She asked Jesse to create a diversion so Barbara could get into the roof and to the third floor to see the security measures in place.
Barbara saw the girl lean slightly out the window and put her cap on and take it off again.
“Good girl.” Barbara sent her a wave of calming thoughts. She never knew if it actually worked, but it could never hurt was her motto.
Barbara waited patiently for the right moment to react and knew the time was right when she began to hear the alarm being sounded.
Jesse had started a fire by tossing a flaming bundle into the suite of rooms below her. The compound erupted in a flurry of pandemonium, of which Barbara quickly took advantage.
Dropping from the limb onto the roof, she peered over the edge into the surveillance room window with the fiber optic camera. Eight monitors with one camera view each. There was only one observer, and he was sound asleep. Peering down from the roof, Barbara saw Jesse look up.
“Please take me with you!” Jesse whispered.
Seeing the girl’s look of fear and longing, Barbara silently shook her head at the soulful request she saw there in her face. Barbara dropped the final package Jesse would need to help them. Jesse’s look tore at her making her feel helpless, frustrated, and she silently cried out for guidance.
She could snatch Jesse now and none would be the wiser. She could at least get the girl out safely. It was doubtful she could get both of them out safely.
“No! Don’t you dare do it!” Mason’s voice pierced her brain. She shook her head to dispel the figment of her imagination. Real or not, he was right. They had to stick to the plan.
“We will be back, I promise. Be strong,” she whispered just before she shimmied back up the limb and removed the looping devise on her way past, crawling back down the tree. She took a different route back around the property doing a swift survey along the way.
She was quickly running out of time as she made her way back to the rendezvous point. Barbara had the layout of the warehouses. She now knew how many guards and where they were posted. She made note of the weapons, the cars, and cameras that they were up against. It was risky but knowing would make the job easier.
The guards could be easily disposed of as long as the surveillance monitor was asleep at the wheel when they came back later that night. Jesse was going to ensure that happened and hoped to take out a few guards along the way. The packet of powder Barbara lowered to her before leaving would ensure their security buddy was fast asleep come night fall. She was banking on the little girl to get to the powder to Agent Vega, someway and somehow. If not, then they would wing it.
Mason held his finger to the side of the trigger as he kept sweeping the property behind her from his perch. Through the scope, he watched her advance across the property keeping a close eye for danger as she continued towards her goal to reach the rope. He also saw the guard coming to investigate.
It was going to be close.
He could see her moving froward using the lush vegetation for cover. He was not about to breathe a sigh of relief. Not just yet. They had only minutes before daybreak, and he could already see the activity increasing around the compound. They were running out of darkness f
or cover, and she still had to scale the wall.
Fortunately, the guard was called back to help battle the blaze that Jesse had started and was yet to be brought under control. Otherwise, he felt sure their presence would have been discovered leaving him no other choice than to kill the man. That in turn would force them to make a choice to either leave the body hidden in the compound or risk being caught after sunup after hiding the body elsewhere. He was not sure they had time for either scenario. He shimmied down the tree to meet her at the base of the wall.
They were cutting it close, too close for Mason’s comfort.
Her face appeared over the top just before she tossed her gear down. He caught her as she dropped down, bringing the evidence of their night's work with her.
“Come on. We have got to get the hell out of here.” He slung the gear onto his back and grabbed her hand. They took off crouching in the cover and making for the denser part of the jungle.
Mason did not slow their pace until he could no longer hear the sea and the sun was fully past the horizon. He finally stopped feeling it was safe enough, at least from Del Torres.
He turned on her grabbing her fiercely to him. He kissed her deeply, passionately born of fear and a deeper emotion, but one just as primal. Crushing her to him, he could feel the adrenaline flow from the dread he felt for her safety. He knew she came close to reaching out to save Jesse and just as quickly he felt her retreat.
“Don’t you ever do anything like this again, you hear me? I cannot take it.” He kissed her again as she jerked at his camouflaged t-shirt trying to push him away.
“Get your paws off me! This is what I do, Mason. If you want safe go back to your pole dancers.”
She pulled out her compass and left him to catch up with her.