Saviours

by Beth Abbott

  “And you can just do that?” Danny frowned.

  “Sure, it’s not exactly difficult.” Hannah shrugged. “But like I said, it’s even easier if you can avoid the information being recorded in the first place.”

  “And how’ve you managed to achieve that?” Danny asked.

  “I’ve managed to get permission to fly a charter into a small airport close to Murmansk.” Hannah grinned. “The guys can go straight from there to the ship without any interference from anyone.”

  “Don’t they have that sort of equipment at the port, for people going through customs?” Danny’s brain was obviously working furiously to find any flaws in her plan.

  “Only for passengers travelling on ferries or cruise ships.” She said smugly. “They haven’t wasted that sort of money on the freight side, because most of the port workers that get on and off the cargo ships wouldn’t need passports to get to work. They just have port ID, which while it does have a photo on it, doesn’t require anything else.”

  “I see. So, our guys will go on like crewmen?” Danny nodded. “Clever.”

  “I thought so.” She smiled.

  “So, where is everyone this morning?” Danny nodded back towards the door. “I just walked through the corridors, and the place is as deserted as the Mary Celeste.”

  “JT’s taken the boys out to get them beaten up.” Hannah chuckled.

  “What?” Danny snorted. “You mean they couldn’t wait until they got to Russia to get all bruised up?”

  “Well, maybe not beaten up, exactly.” Hannah smiled. “He’s taken them to a local gym where they do MMA training. Someone JT knows is arranging to have a few of their top people come in and give a demonstration for our guys’ benefit. Just so they know what sort of stuff they might come up against. If they want to get in the ring and practise some moves, they can do that as well, in case they’re worried about being a little rusty.”

  “Sounds like a good plan.” Danny grinned. “So, does that mean we have the whole place to ourselves? Just you and me and that great big sofa over there?”

  Hannah glanced at her watch.

  “We do for now, but in precisely four minutes, David will be walking through that door, ready for his usual update.” She smiled at Danny’s pout. “Not even you can get both of us off satisfactorily in four minutes!”

  “I can give it a good try.” Danny grinned, optimistically.

  “And leave both of us very unsatisfied when you fail miserably.” Hannah scowled at him. “Neither of us are overly responsive to ‘quickies’.”

  “There’s always a first time.” Danny said hopefully, nuzzling her neck. “Or you could just give me a romantic blow job, and I’ll return the favour at lunchtime, maybe?”

  “Nice try, Romeo!” Hannah pushed him back. “I’m afraid you’ll have to save it for later. If you’re really that keen to try out the sofa, come back after JT goes home at about six o’clock. The office will be empty by then, and we’ll have an hour before we have to pick up the kids from my mom’s place.”

  Danny sighed dramatically.

  “Oh, if I must.” He pouted, his face so like Adam’s that she chuckled.

  “And if you’re a very good boy, you might even get that romantic blow job.” She leaned in to kiss him slowly and thoroughly.

  When they came up for air, Danny growled at her.

  “You realise I have to go back to work with a raging hard-on again, don’t you?” He complained. “I’ll have to go straight to my bathroom and ice it down before anyone sees me. The last thing I need is for one of the female staff members to see me, and lodge a complaint for sexual harassment.”

  “Then it’s lucky for you that most of the staff on the directors’ floor are men.” Hannah chuckled. “I really don’t think Claire would bat an eyelid. She knows us too well.”

  “I probably should worry more about Drew and Tony.” Danny grinned. “They might think all this hotness is intended for them.”

  Hannah snorted a laugh.

  “I think Drew and Tony have enough hotness between them to register over a gazillion on the Scoville heat chart!” She chuckled. “Not that they’re as hot as you, of course, but I’m just saying… between the two of them and Vicky, I don’t think they need to look for anyone else.”

  “I guess that’s true.” Danny grumbled.

  “Knock, knock.” David’s voice made Hannah jump. “Is it safe to come in, or should I wait outside?”

  Danny stood up, depositing Hannah on her feet.

  “No, it’s safe to come in.” He grinned. “I was hoping for a blow-job, but I got turned down flat!”

  David looked to Hannah for confirmation, but she just shook her head.

  “Ignore Danny.” She smiled at David. “He’s just leaving.”

  “I’m just leaving.” Danny confirmed, pinching Hannah’s ass as he headed for the door. “Have fun, kids.”

  When Danny had closed the door behind him, David turned back to Hannah with a smile.

  “Is there the slightest possibility that your husband is ever going to grow up?” He wondered.

  “Glory, I sure hope not!” Hannah smiled, taking her seat behind her desk. “He wouldn’t be the man I married if he lost that cringeworthy sense of humour.”

  “You must be the only woman on the planet who’s never tried to change her husband into what she thinks he should be.” David commented. “I applaud you, Mrs Simons.”

  “Danny may have a warped sense of humour, and sometimes may say things that are highly inappropriate.” Hannah conceded. “But he would also walk through burning coals to save me, and he wouldn’t hesitate to give his life for me and the kids. He spends half his life trying to figure out ways to make me happier, even though I already tell him he’s made me the happiest woman on the planet. Why in God’s name would I ever want to change him?”

  David smiled in understanding.

  “You’re right.” He nodded. “For a relationship to still be so strong after more than a decade, I reckon you’ve got him exactly how you want him.”

  “True.” She nodded. “Plus, he’s freaking awesome in bed! Wowza!”

  David burst out laughing and Hannah blushed even as she chuckled.

  “Do you think he’s rubbing off on me?” Hannah wondered.

  “Just a little.” David snorted, as he shrugged out of his jacket. “Now, before I find out even more about your husband’s talents than I ever wanted to know, shall we get down to the daily report? I have a meeting in Whitehall in ninety minutes, and I’d like to be able to tell them that everything is on track.”

  “I think that’s a good idea.” Hannah nodded, pulling her laptop in front of her and grabbing her to-do list.

  “Ok, well, I was just explaining to Danny that I’ve got around the biometrics issue by getting the Russians to allow our team to fly directly to a small airport outside Murmansk.” Hannah began. “They’ve got pretty basic security checks and will virtually wave the team through with a smile.”

  “Whose plane are you using?” David asked. “One of Tuck’s?”

  “Nope.” Hannah shook her head. “I’m trying to keep this separate from anything Alpha-Stalwart. I’m hiring a sixteen-seater jet from a small company based out of Luton. Vicky gave us the name of the owner, someone she’s done some flying with in the past. I think he’s ex-RAF.”

  “Good idea to keep it small.” David nodded, taking a few notes.

  “Drago flew back to Moscow this morning with Abram, following a call from Orlov.” Hannah continued. “I think the guy wants to get in on the betting action and is after an inside tip on whether Drago’s team stand a chance.”

  “If Orlov sees Abram, he’s going to put his money on our team for sure.” David snorted. “The guy is built like an ox.”

  “True enough.” Hannah smiled. “And yet, I still think he’s a bit smaller than Zach.”

  “Very probably.” David conceded.

  “Anyway, Drago and Abram are staying in Moscow f
or a couple of days and will then meet up with the rest of the team early on Friday morning at the airfield.” Hannah confirmed. “For some reason, they’ve been given a specific time-slot when they’re supposed to arrive at the ship.”

  “Maybe they don’t want all the teams to arrive at once and start fighting on the dock?” David suggested. “Or maybe they don’t want Lebedev’s business partners seeing the teams before the evening?”

  “It could be either of those, or it could be a completely different reason.” Hannah shrugged. “But that something completely different could be absolutely anything, so I’m not going to waste precious energy worrying about it.”

  “Probably wise.” David acknowledged. “Anything else happened since yesterday?”

  “Oh, yeah… just one more thing. Before they left, Drago and Abram went to have their trackers fitted.” Hannah said casually, trying to keep from smiling.

  David glance at her suspiciously.

  “In the same place as the other guys?” He glanced down at his crotch.

  “Oh, yes!” She nodded. “And Zach had to have his fitted almost as soon as he got off the plane. He was less than impressed.”

  “Did you have to hold him down?” David snorted. “It would have probably taken the rest of the team to sit on him.”

  “Nope. He agreed to have it done on condition that Tuck had one fitted as well.” She laughed.

  “And Tuck agreed to that?” David’s eyes widened.

  “He didn’t have much choice after JT said that he’d had one fitted.” Hannah smiled. “It’s a good job we bought extras.”

  “Well, I take my hat off to all of them.” David winced. “Unless it’s a medical necessity, I don’t think I like the idea of being tampered with down there.”

  Hannah couldn’t help but smile.

  “Only in a medical emergency?” She asked politely, making the former policeman blush. “Does your lady-friend know about that rule?”

  “What lady-friend would that be?” David couldn’t help himself, obviously needing to know whether she was just fishing or not.

  “Oh, I don’t know…” Hannah sat back, playing with him. “Possibly the one who meets up with Abbey whenever she’s in town for a girls’ lunch? The one you’ve been dating for the last eighteen months without telling anyone? Now, what was her name again? Nina something?”

  “How in God’s name do you know these things?” David threw up his hands. “Do you have your satellites spying on me as well?”

  “That’s for me to know and you to worry about.” Hannah grinned. “But now that the cat’s out of the bag, so to speak, why don’t you bring her with you to the next family get-together, when this operation is over?”

  David shook his head.

  “Nina is very quiet.” He sighed. “I think she’d be intimidated by all the testosterone given off by all your menfolk. Don’t forget, she went through the same sort of thing that Abbey did. It takes a lot of getting over.”

  “You’re forgetting that Nina not only helped Abbey and Baxter escape by connecting her to you, but she took a bullet trying to save Abbey. That qualifies her for heroine status with us. And she already knows Drew because she had sessions with him after she was shot. Besides, I think it would possibly be good for her if you brought her into the family.” Hannah said quietly. “Not only would she realise that there are some other really good guys in the world, not just you, but it would be good for her to know that she’d have our protection if she ever needed it. Plus, of course, Abbey and Jordan are based in London now, so she wouldn’t be arriving anywhere she didn’t really know anyone.”

  “I’ll ask her tonight, to give her plenty of time to think about it.” David finally agreed. “But I make no promises. As much as I know you’re right, and you’d all welcome her with open arms, Nina doesn’t cope well with big groups of people. I won’t ask her to do something she won’t be happy with.”

  “Not a problem.” Hannah held up her hands. “I won’t push it, but if you think it’s something she could be eased into, I’d love to have the two of you over for an informal supper one evening, with Abbey and Jordan for support. I’ll even make sure Danny is on his best behaviour.”

  “Ok, Ok… I’ll see what she says.” David stood up and grabbed his jacket. “I won’t mention Danny being on his best behaviour though, because I don’t want to give Nina false expectations. Danny being Danny will be just fine. She’s shy, but she’s not a prude or a puritan.”

  “Good to know.” Hannah nodded.

  “Ok, well, I’m off to brown-nose with the politicians.” David pulled a face. “The favourite part of my week. Not! Tell JT I’ll catch up with him later, once he’s back from the gym.”

  “Will do.” Hannah nodded. “Tell Nina I send my best wishes.”

  David’s growl could still be heard halfway down the corridor.

  Hannah smiled to herself. It looked like the Alpha-Stalwart family was about to get even bigger!

  Chapter 18 – Zach

  Zach wouldn’t have admitted it under the most punishing of tortures, but for the last forty-eight hours, the prospect of literally fighting for the success of the team’s mission had left him scared to death.

  Not that he was afraid of getting hurt, and he sure as hell wasn’t afraid of stepping in the ring with another fighter. He would do what needed to be done.

  No, part of him was scared of actually finding out that he really was too old for this shit, and even more so, of letting people down. After all, he was past forty, and it had been a long time since he’d had to show any real aggression. Compared to their standard missions which involved armed combat, usually at a distance, it was a whole different scenario, getting inside a ring and having to punch someone unconscious.

  Until this morning he wasn’t actually convinced he could do it.

  The visit to the gym had been an eye-opener, and it had shown him just how easy it was for someone to push his buttons.

  The guy he was fighting was a young black guy in his twenties, tall but probably half Zach’s weight. The gym owner introduced him as Dappy.

  Whether it was Dappy’s size that was Zach’s hang-up, or just the fact that he hadn’t fought anyone in years he didn’t know, but for some reason, Zach had found it hard to punch the guy with any real force.

  “Come on, old man… stop hitting me like a pussy!” Dappy had grinned at him. “Shit, you Yanks think you’re so tough, but you hit like a fucking girl! My kid sister punches harder than you do, and she’s just turned twelve!”

  No, that wasn’t what had pushed his buttons. In fact, Zach had grinned at the guy, struggling to stop himself from laughing.

  “You think that’s funny, do you, smiler?” With a quick spin and a kick, Dappy had taken one of Zach’s legs from under him, and if he hadn’t been standing close to the ropes, Zach would’ve ended up flat on his ass.

  “Nice move.” Kellen complimented Dappy. “Now see if you can give Gigantor a black eye.”

  Zach glanced at Kellen as if to remind him whose side he was on.

  “Really?” He huffed. “You really want Sacha pissed off at me?”

  “Who’s Sacha?” Dappy turned to Kellen. “Old guy has a woman? What’s she like? A MILF?”

  JT pulled out his phone and held it out to the guy.

  “That’s his wife.” He grinned at Dappy.

  “Holy Mary and Joseph!” Dappy tried to get a closer look at the phone. “You get to tap that every night? Shit! No wonder you ain’t got no energy left to fight me.”

  “That’s my wife you’re talking about.” Zach reminded him, his buttons already prepping themselves to be pushed.

  “Yeah, so grandpa says.” Dappy chuckled, grinning at JT. “That’s one hot fucking piece of ass, man! Italian, too by the look of it, so that means she can cook too, I bet!”

  On another day, Zach might have just ignored the guy and carried on about his business, but with everything that was going on with Sacha, today wasn’t anywher
e close to being just another day.

  “Y’know, if ever you ain’t got the energy to give her the loving she deserves, you just give me a call, y’hear old man?” Dappy laughed. “I could finish her off for you while you have an early night.”

  In hindsight, it probably would have been wiser of Dappy to gauge how long it would take him to exit the ring altogether, before making remarks of a sexual nature about the love of Zach’s life.

  As it was, he failed to see the flash of movement behind him until it was too late, as Zach grabbed hold of Dappy and lifted him up one-handed, his other hand already primed to punch the smaller guy straight in the head.

  “Ah, shit!” Zach vaguely heard Kellen’s words as he slammed Dappy into the canvas and started punching the young punk anywhere he could reach.

  When Dappy tried to roll away, obviously using his years of fight training to get him out of the mess he’d gotten himself into, Zach twisted his body so that he pinned the guy’s legs under his. He grabbed Dappy’s flailing arms, kneeling on one as he twisted the other across his body, pinning it with one hand.

  With his free hand, he managed to land four or five good shots to the jaw and body before he felt strong arms grab him from behind.

  “Ok, Slugger!” Kellen murmured in his ear. “I think we saw all we needed to.”

  Zach’s attention snapped back to his surroundings, and he let himself be pulled away from the asshole on the floor.

  “Shit, man.” JT jumped into the ring, pulling a dazed Dappy from the floor. “Sorry about that. Are you Ok?”

  Zach had to give the guy credit. He’d landed more than a few punches on him, face and body, and Dappy was still grinning.

  “It’s all good, man.” He waved JT off. “I think you got your answer, though.”

  Zach stood up straighter, looking at his team-mates in confusion.

  “What answer?” He asked, curiously. “What was the question?”

  “They wanted to know if you could still get riled up, man.” Dappy laughed. “I’d say that was a fairly categorical yes, if you want my humble opinion. They just needed to know what your trigger was, and I think we found it.”