by Sara Schoen
She sighed. Then her eyes dipped back to the paper work. “Are you talking to me? Shouldn’t you be planning to head off somewhere else? I thought you had a cartel to deal with again.” I tried not to roll my eyes. She always did this. When she wanted to get someone to talk about something and they refused, she’d find other ways to do it. It wouldn’t work this time. I knew her too well.
I nodded, but didn’t reply right away. I had to think through my answers carefully or she’d use them against me. I didn’t want to do this, but seeing their desire to find this man and avenge their families told me I should. If I chased after this, I would just leave myself open to being hurt again. I wouldn’t be able to understand Ash’s motive or I’d think I should have done more. There wasn’t more to do except kill the person who was actually responsible. “Possibly, but it’s unlikely that they’ll agree on how to do it unless one decides to compromise.” I looked at Renegade and Sandstorm, both were head strong. Neither will compromise. Which means we may not go at all. It would be too risky if they couldn’t work together.
Spit Fire scoffed, bringing me out of my thoughts. “Good luck with that. They’ve been having a pissing match with each other since we left. I wish they’d stop. I have shit to do and they are no help when they are like this.” She nodded her head toward them fighting over how to begin the mission. I heard Renegade say sneak attack, Sandstorm wanted to take them down from the inside. He didn’t understand just how hard that would be, but Renegade didn’t know Sandstorm could do it if he had the time. We just didn’t have time, and at this rate, we’d never see the other cartel.
“Why are they having so much trouble with each other?”
“The best guess I have is that it’s over you.” Her gaze shifted back to me. I gave her my best ‘what did I do?’ expression. To which she cracked a smile and I would have thought she was about to laugh too. “Sandstorm isn’t taking it well that other people know you better than he does. He was gone for a few years and thinks you’re the same girl he left behind after the accident. He doesn’t know that you’ve changed in more ways than physically. He still thinks you’re the little, happy-go-lucky sister. He doesn’t realize that you were hurt just as bad, if not more, than he was after the hit on your family.” I cringed slightly when she called it a hit. Even now I preferred to think of it as an accident. Somehow it made it easier to swallow. “And Renegade loves to rub it in his face that Sandstorm doesn’t know you anymore. Renegade has a twisted sense of humor sometimes.”
“Yeah? Well, I got a worse one.” Camo walked into the room with a terrifying glare.
“What happened?” Spit Fire leaned back in her seat slightly, cracking her back. Then leaned over the desk to listen to Camo. “Wake up on the wrong side of the runway?”
Camo forced a laugh, but her grimace didn’t fade. “I wish I was back at that runway show mission. It would be better than chasing your recruit around outside!” Camo’s dark eyes turned to me. If looks could kill, I’d be dead and haunting Shadow’s ass for getting me into it.
“Shadow? What did she do?”
“She figured out a way into the building and I lost track of her, but that’s after I chased her all over the forest surrounding this place.” She threw her hands up in the air in exasperation. “I’m hot, sweaty, and tried of her acting out like this.”
“Sounds familiar...” Spit Fire shifted her gaze to me with an accusatory stare. “Aren’t you supposed to train recruits to be better than you? That’s what Siren always said. It’s a pity to see that idea hasn’t continued,” she quipped playfully. A smile swept over her features despite her best effort to keep it under control.
“Make fun of me all you want. I want you to get a recruit and see how easy it is. It’s not that great when you have someone exactly like you were.”
“Glad to hear you’re learning how insufferable you can be sometimes,” Sandstorm interrupted. A subtle “oh shit” came from Spit Fire and Camo, while Renegade took an instinctive step back in case I retaliated. Sandstorm didn’t give me the chance though, he got right to the point. Maybe it was a family trait, I thought as he explained what he and Renegade had come up with. “So, we found the building they use closest to us. We don’t know where the guy is anymore, so we are going to need you to get in there and figure that out somehow.” His voice sounded directed at me, but I didn’t turn to face him or I’d hit him for his ‘insufferable’ comment. “It won’t take long to get there. It’s about two towns away, we can find a car or something to borrow.”
Spit Fire chuckled. “There’s no such thing as borrowing in this business. I never returned the things I used to get out here the first time. I bet no one misses them either, but someone is going to miss a car.”
“Not if it’s from this compound,” he stated with a matter-of-fact tone. “We’ll borrow the van we found in that smaller warehouse they had tucked away.” I glanced at Spit Fire, hoping she’d explain, but she didn’t say anything. Instead she handed me a map of the compound with small squares about fifty or so yards apart. She had notes from what they had found in them next to the squares. One included a car, and another one was labeled as a field hospital with CIRA in parenthesis. That must be one of Maverick’s stops. I didn’t know we had one out here.
“Fine, borrow the car, but what are you going to do once you get into this building? Attack head on? That will go well.” Her voice dripped with sarcasm. She dragged it out that the words could have coated the desk and lingered long after they were said.
“I go in alone and see what I find and then they can handle the rest.” I waited for someone to argue with me on it. They hated when I went anywhere alone, especially when it came to cartels, but no one said anything.
Spit Fire nodded. “I like that. That’s the best case right now until we have all the information and maybe if I get you two,” she gestured to the men behind me with a deadly glare. “Out of my way, I can finally get something done rather than listening to you argue.” She glared them down for a few more minutes before leaning down to pick up something off the ground. She lifted a small black drawstring back and handed it to me. “Put everything you find in here. There’s also a flash drive with everything I’ve found so far. Don’t lose it, add anything you can to it. Use your phone to take pictures of anything that’s on paper, and remember to keep everything as you found it so they don’t get suspicious.”
I nodded, taking the bag from her and hoisting over my shoulder. “I’ll see what I can find as for information. I’ll get an idea of the layout before going in and then once I’m done, I’ll come find you guys. I doubt the man we want will be in this building so it might be better if you just don’t come at all.” Renegade and Sandstorm looked betrayed, but before they could argue, Camo stepped in.
“We’ll stay here and keep an eye on your shadow.” I lifted an eyebrow at her, curious as to why she didn’t want to come with me. If anything, I figured she’d want to come with me, even if she wasn’t interested in killing the guy who recruited her father. Maybe she wants to keep everyone out of my way, including herself.
“Fine,” Sandstorm chimed, clearly unhappy with the choice, but taking it. He’d understand that this was the best course of action once he took a step back. Right now, he was too focused on finding the man responsible. “Just don’t trip any alarms or get killed.”
I nodded, standing up to leave, but not before having one last sarcastic comment. “I will do my best.”
“Then we’re doomed.”
I forced out a laugh for his benefit, but gave him a soft, genuine smile. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.” I turned to walk away, but ran into Renegade. He could come with me, but he’d stay if Sandstorm did. Maybe I wanted the company. What happened to the loner in me who was okay with doing solo missions?
“Just be safe. I know what you’re going through, and I don’t want to see you become self-destructive again.” He lightly caressed my face and gave me a short kiss on the forehead. “Can you do tha
t for me?”
“I’ll do my best,” I repeated, this time genuinely.
“That’s all I ask for.” He hugged me to him momentarily before letting go and stepping out of the way so I could leave. “I’ll see you soon.”
I hope so, and maybe this way, we can keep others safe...but why didn’t that make me happy?
Chapter 15
I didn’t even make it to the warehouse the car was supposedly kept in before Renegade and Sandstorm showed up. They decided that they weren’t going to wait and were coming with me ‘whether I like it or not’. They gave Shadow to Camo as her responsibility and followed me. I should have known they wouldn’t stay out of it, but I had hoped. I understood where they were coming from. It’s something I would have done when it came to Ash Crest, but they better let me do my job. I’d kill them if they got me caught. The whole point was for me to go alone so the cartel wouldn’t know we were coming. If they were seen, we’d lose the only advantage we had; surprise.
They said Camo didn’t mind, but I didn’t believe them. I found it curious that Camo didn’t have any interest in this man, Don Moretti. He’s the one who got her father recruited which led to his death. Didn’t she want to face him too? I wondered for the almost four-hour drive to the coordinates Sandstorm had for the Carrera Cartel. That’s the good thing of having teammates, I didn’t have to drive and got to catch up on my sleep. They may be eager to take on Moretti, but I needed rest before getting into the building. I’d have to be alert and prepared for anything.
Though that didn’t help me once we got to Seattle. When we arrived, the town was filled with business buildings instead of a compound surrounded by a city. The Carrera’s worked out of one similar to what my father had worked in before his death; inconspicuous and nonthreatening. It was so much different then coming face to face with a compound. They had space to move and watch how things worked. Office buildings were closed off, there was no way to know what was happening inside or have an easy way of finding what I need except diving in head first.
“Okay, remember the plan,” I said, bringing their attention to me and away from the skyscraper a few blocks from us. “I’m going in alone. You two do not set foot in or around that building. We don’t want to bring attention to ourselves. I’ll get in and see what I can find, then come to get you and we can head back to the Cardoza compound and reconvene.”
Both men glanced at each other before nodding to me, but didn’t say anything. I hoped that didn’t mean they had a plan to come in anyway. They better stay out of this. After a few moments of silence, Sandstorm finally spoke up. “Don’t worry. We’ll walk around town and get a feel for what we’re going to walk in on. When you’re done, come find us.”
I sensed the hesitation in Sandstorm’s voice. The cold military tone and lack of emotion. Something didn’t sit right with me and I couldn’t figure out what it was. Both seemed angry all the time now, they disobeyed direct plans that they had made, and were willing to risk the mission even if it meant they wouldn’t get what they came for. Was this what I was like for Ash? I tried not to think about that. I didn’t want to remember how angry and hurt I was back then. I can’t go back to that place. I shuddered at the memory of just how bad it had all been and the measures I took to try and end the pain.
“We’ll be fine,” Renegade said with a comforting smile. He must have sensed my uneasy feeling, but he didn’t know it was because I was thinking about where they were mentally now instead of the mission. I wonder if he thinks he’s handling the news well. He was livid when he thought I killed the man responsible. It took forever for him to work it out with me, and now he had the opportunity. How had it come full circle? “Don’t worry about us. We can handle walking around while you look for whatever you need.”
I nodded, giving him a soft, somewhat forced smile. “Good. I’ll see you both soon. Don’t cause too much trouble.”
They nodded in response and then walked off in different directions. I guess they aren’t staying together either. Not that I could imagine them working well together from what Spit Fire had said. Maybe it was better they went separately then. I sighed at the hardheadedness between the two of them. They’d have to get over whatever was going on between them eventually. I cared for them both and they’d be working together for years to come. There’s no way getting around it. They should just make nice and fake it if they have to, but today was clearly not that day.
Once they left, I got off the main street and made my way around town through alleys and side streets. Seattle was a big city, and what little I knew about it, it had a reputation. It supposedly wasn’t safe so people would be extra cautious. From my time with cartels, I knew the front of the building had cameras, and if I had to guess the back did as well. Cartels were paranoid no matter where they were so they’d be as protected as possible, but the Carrera’s they took caution to a new level. We hadn’t made the connection to them for years. They hid in plain sight and killed from the shadows.
Making my way toward the building I noticed a few open windows. I won’t be able to get in from the ground floor. I’ll be spotted in no time. If they worked with the Cardozas, I’m sure they knew about all of us. Time to get creative, I thought as I glanced around for a good take off point. There was a building slightly taller than one of the open windows. I don’t know what that window leads to though. I could be walking into anything. Trying to find another way in, the back of the building seemed like a better idea. Not nearly as fun, but easier to manage.
I dipped into a back alley and approached from the shadows. From what I could see, there were two cameras. One pointed at the door and the other, which was slightly above it, would scan the area before the door. If both went out, that would be a red flag, but if only one went out... I can take out the bottom camera and slip in, but how? I turned back down the alley to remain out of digit in case the Carrera’s had patrols like other cartels did. I hate not knowing what I’m up against.
Seattle was a busy town, filled with people, noise, and distractions. If I needed it, I could cause a problem outside and bring attention to the front cameras. I’d need something that wouldn’t be out of the ordinary in a big town. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed two familiar figures stalking me. If they are going to follow me, then they are going to help me, I thought as I stepped back into the shadows and made my way toward them. Both Renegade and Sandstorm stood at opposite buildings, taking turns to peek around the corner to look at me. I made my way to them with the help of the fire escapes above them.
“She’s gone!” Sandstorm whisper-called to Renegade. “Where did she go? Did you see her? How the hell did she move so fast?” I didn’t hear Renegade’s reply, but he jumped slightly when I landed next to him.
“I’m right here.” I smiled sweetly before letting my frown and angry glare take over my features. “I should be asking what you two are doing here. You’re supposed to let me handle this. What do you think you’re doing?”
“Helping?” Renegade said with a shrug and sheepish grin.
“Good answer.” His eyebrows lifted curiously when he noticed the overly pleased tone in my voice. He didn’t sense the sarcasm drenching my words until a twisted smirk took over my lips. “Because I need the help and know just what you can do to be useful.”
Renegade cursed under his breath and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. “This isn’t good news.”
“Oh, come on, she’s like five foot nothing,” Sandstorm quipped as he came to join the conversation. I’m five foot seven actually, thanks. “Even you could take her.” He playfully hit Renegade in the shoulder, making them both laugh. I tilted my head to the side and squinted my eyes as I examined them. Ten minutes ago, they didn’t even want to walk around town and now they were acting like friends...I don’t get them.
I waved my hand, dismissing his comment and carrying on with the mission. “Since you both want to be in the middle of this and won’t let me do my alone job. I’ll take your help.�
�� I smiled at him then transferred my gaze to Sandstorm, who looked as if he had made a big mistake. Too late now. You’re helping. “I need you to instigate a distraction to draw attention to the front cameras while I get in. I don’t care how you do it, who it is, or anything. Just don’t get caught, don’t get seen by their cameras, and keep it going for as long as possible.”
As I spoke, Sandstorm’s ‘Shit, what is she going to have us do?’ expression shifted to more of a ‘Fuck, yes’ excited grin. “We can do that,” Sandstorm chimed before beckoning to Renegade, seeming eager to start something. “We got you covered, just get in the building and we will keep a distraction going for you.” They ran off together and I wasted no time getting into place behind the building. From there, everything fell into place in a matter of minutes.
A chorus of screaming and cheering met my ears, signaling to me that whatever Sandstorm had planned had started. I sprinted toward the building, staying out of the camera’s angle as best as I could, and tried to knock out the bottom camera. I picked up a rock, but had more faith in my abilities than was possible. The rock flung over the camera, missing entirely, and possibly rolled into the upper camera’s view. I brushed off the embarrassment and tried again. It’s not going to be clean but it will work, I thought as I picked up another rock. Cutting the wire would be obvious and moving the camera up or to the sides would be suspicious, so the only choice was to cause it to black out without damaging it. This is the best option.
Aiming a little more carefully, I chucked the rock at the camera. A crack echoed through the air and the blinking red light slowly flickered out. Camera is dead. Time to go. I stuck close to the wall of the building and inched my way toward the door. It jammed when I tried to open it, though the metal clanking was drowned out by a sudden loud cheer from the front of the building. What the hell are they doing, I wondered, getting down onto one knee and going to work on the lock.