by CW Browning
Stephanie sighed and sipped the whiskey gratefully, grimacing as the alcohol burned a path down her throat.
“Pick up where he left off, I guess,” she replied, sitting back with a shrug. “I thought if I could find his notes, I'd know where to start. Perhaps I could discover what was worth killing him over.”
“You don't think a Cartel smuggling operation is worth killing over?” Alina asked, amused. “The Casa Reinos have killed people for looking at them the wrong way. If they thought a Federal Agent discovered their smuggling routes, they wouldn't think twice.”
“Is that what you think happened?” Stephanie challenged.
Alina shrugged, her expression guarded.
“I'm not ruling out the possibility.”
“Why would the Cartel be smuggling bombs anyway?” Stephanie muttered, taking another sip of whiskey. “They're all about revenue. How much money is there in terrorism? I mean, really?”
Alina was silent, keeping the half a dozen answers that came to mind to herself. Instead, she asked another question of her own.
“When Rob pulls you in for questioning, and he will, what are you going to tell him?”
“Nothing.” The quickness of her answer told Viper that Stephanie had already considered it. “I'm on leave of absence. It's not my job right now to help them with their investigation. I'll tell him what he already knows, and nothing more.”
“If they ever find out your basement gnome gave you the evidence he did, and you didn't hand it over, your career will be over,” Viper said softly.
“And if I hand it over, it will disappear into the tunnels of national security and I'll never get any answers,” Stephanie retorted. “I'll take my chances. No offense to you, but I have zero faith in our government's security agencies right now.”
Viper thought of the leak in Charlie's house and the agents that pursued her across Europe, authorized to kill on sight. Her lips tightened imperceptibly.
“None taken,” she murmured, watching as Stephanie finished the whiskey. Her breathing had steadied and her eyes were calmer. “You asked me for guidance. Are you sure you want to go down this road?”
“No,” Stephanie said with a short laugh, “but I'm sure that I can't just sit at home playing solitaire while everyone else is having all the fun.”
Alina's lips curved briefly, then she sobered.
“Then I'd advise you to, first and foremost, put that flash-drive in a safe and secure place. Whatever you do, do not let your agency, or anyone else, see what's on it. Right now, they think they're the only ones who know about the bomb. Let's keep it that way for now.”
“And John?”
“Let me figure out what, exactly, he stumbled into,” Alina said, holding a hand up when Stephanie began to protest. “Listen to me,” she ordered firmly. “I don't know if he came across anything other than the smuggling routes for the Cartel, and if that's all that happened, I will happily pass the buck over to you. However, if John managed to uncover something about those bombs, or about the person who made them, that falls under my jurisdiction.”
“I could make the argument that you have no jurisdiction here, but I won't,” Stephanie relented.
“What you can do is help Blake,” Alina continued, pulling her phone out of her pocket. “I put together a list of cars for him. I'll send it to you now. Help him track them down. If you guys can find one of the drivers, you can fill in all the blanks on the smuggling operation.”
“That's if he'll let me,” Stephanie said. “He knows I'm on LOA.”
“I don't think that will make a difference with him. He's a Marine. They know how to get things done.” Alina glanced up. “But if he balks, tell him it's either you or me,” she added with a grin.
Stephanie laughed.
“He really doesn't know what to make of you,” she admitted. “He did want me to thank you for your help with the cars, though. He appreciates it.”
Alina smiled faintly and slipped her phone back into her pocket.
“What's the latest update on John's condition?” she asked.
“He's stable.” Stephanie set her empty glass down on the table. “He's still sedated, but the doctors are more optimistic. It looks like the lucky bastard will actually pull through. I don't think I'll mention that we raided his apartment when he comes to, though.”
“Probably not the best idea, no,” Alina agreed with a grin.
“What the hell was Dominic doing there?” Stephanie wondered, leaning her head back tiredly.
“The same thing we were. He's getting desperate. He lost a package that wasn't his to lose. Whether it belongs to the Cartel or...someone else, he's a dead man if he can't locate it.”
“But why look for it at John's?”
“He wasn't. He was looking for whatever John found out, just like we were. He knows the last person to have the package was Dutch. He knows Dutch's sister is the next logical choice for who would know where to find it. He also knows that John was snooping around because Lani didn't believe Dutch's crash was an accident. If he can't find Lani, the only person left is John.”
Stephanie shook her head.
“Then why try to kill him?” she muttered. “It seems to me Dominic's trigger happy, and not the brightest crayon in the box.”
Alina pursed her lips thoughtfully.
“Or he's taking orders from someone who doesn't care to leave loose ends,” she murmured softly, half to herself.
“What?” Stephanie looked at her. “I didn't hear you.”
Before Alina could answer, Stephanie's phone started ringing from the bar. Stephanie glanced at her watch with a frown and got up.
“Who...” she began, then stopped. “Blake,” she decided. “I forgot to text him when I left John's.”
“Is he your keeper?” Alina asked dryly.
“He wasn't comfortable with me going alone,” Stephanie explained over her shoulder, heading over to the bar to dig her phone out of her purse. “I told him I would keep him posted. He's probably checking in.”
Alina watched as Stephanie pulled out her phone and answered, wondering what it was like to have someone concerned for your safety. For that matter, Viper could no longer remember what it was like to be concerned for her own safety. She was a specialized weapon, trained to survive and kill. Sometimes she forgot that normal people feared the shadows they couldn't see through. Hawk and Viper lived and breathed in those shadows.
“What?!”
Stephanie's shocked exclamation sent Alina's eyebrow into her forehead. She watched as her old friend stood next to the bar with her phone pressed against her ear, a stunned look on her face, listening.
“When?”
Viper lowered her feet to the floor slowly, watching Stephanie.
“Thank you for letting me know,” Stephanie finally said. “I'll head over there now.”
“What happened?” Alina asked as Stephanie dropped her phone back into her purse and picked up her keys.
“John's condo is on fire!”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Alina stood on the deck and listened to the fading sound of Stephanie's Mustang, staring into the dark trees thoughtfully. After making her startling announcement, Stephanie grabbed her purse and hightailed it out the door, promising to call when she had more information. Viper frowned now and tapped a finger on the railing of the deck thoughtfully. When she left Dominic in the alley a block from John's building, he was securely tied up and out cold. When he came to, he wasn't going anywhere until someone helped him out of his bonds. It was highly unlikely that he ran back to John's to finish what he started, setting the place on fire when he was done. So what the hell happened?
She was still staring out into the trees a few minutes later when a tall shadow separated from the woods at the end of the lawn and began moving across the grass. Alina smiled faintly, unsurprised, and waited for Damon to reach the deck. Raven appeared on the roof of the garage, watching, but made no move to join them. Alina's smile grew. Her
pet was learning to accept Hawk coming and going without reserve.
“You just missed Stephanie,” she said as Damon drew closer.
“I know,” he replied. “I was waiting for her to leave.”
Alina raised an eyebrow, watching as he came up the steps of the deck with that jungle-cat stride of his to join her at the railing. He was dressed in black pants and a gray shirt, with a black bag slung over his shoulder. He blended with the shadows as well as she did herself. Her breath caught in her throat for a second and her heart skipped a beat as the breeze carried the scent of his musky aftershave to her.
“That sounds ominous,” she murmured, glancing up into his face.
“It's not,” Damon assured her with a faint smile, reaching out to brush a strand of hair out of her eyes. “I'm just not in the mood to be social.”
Alina tilted her head and studied him in the faint light from the house. His shoulders were relaxed, but his eyes seemed unusually guarded and his jaw was tense. Something was bothering him. She raised a hand, resting it on the outside of his shoulder for a minute before turning toward the sliding door.
“Come in. You can tell me what's bothering you.”
Hawk's eyes flashed briefly in the dim light and his lips curved as he followed her through the door and into the living room.
“Sometimes I wonder if you really are a witch,” he murmured, sliding the door closed behind himself. “Maybe our fellow sailors in boot camp had it right. They swore you had some kind of magic you wielded at will.”
Alina laughed over her shoulder and went into the kitchen to the refrigerator. She pulled out two beers and turned to watch as he dropped the bag onto the bar. He glanced up, saw the beer, and a smile creased his face.
“Or maybe you're a saint,” he said as she came over and handed him one.
“Hardly that,” she answered. “You look like you need one, and I know I can use one.”
Hawk was busy popping the cap off his bottle, but at that, he glanced up. Alina was caught in a searching blue gaze that was as intense as it was brief.
“Now, that sounds ominous,” he murmured, lifting the bottle to his lips and taking a sip. “Mmmm. That's good.”
He set the bottle down and proceeded to unzip his bag while Alina opened her own bottle. She watched as he pulled out a shrink-wrapped box and set it on the bar.
“What's that?” she asked.
“Charlie sent goodies. New equipment. Activate them and destroy the old ones. That's yours.”
“He sent it with you?” Viper stared at him incredulously. “What did he say?”
“To give you his regards,” Hawk answered dryly. He laughed when she made a face at him. “What do you want me to say? He knows I'm here with you, so he sent it with me.”
“I told you this would get complicated,” Alina muttered, setting her beer down and reaching for the box. “His two best assets fraternizing together. I wonder if he disapproves.”
“I don't really care what his feelings are on the subject,” Damon retorted frankly, moving the bag onto a bar stool and picking up his beer again.
“Why the new equipment?” Alina asked after she opened the box to reveal a smart phone and new watch. She removed her watch from her wrist and slipped on the new one, pressing the button on the side of the square face. The smart display lit up.
“They're clean, and only Charlie is on the other end.”
Viper looked up and brown eyes met blue.
“He still hasn't found the leak,” she murmured, dropping her eyes back to the box.
She lifted out the phone and powered it on, watching as the security level installed and updated.
“He's working on it,” Damon said, turning and walking into the living room. “He wants us to trust him and let him take care of his business.”
“Then he better start taking care of it,” Viper muttered.
Hawk glanced over his shoulder.
“Or you'll do it for him?” he asked softly.
Viper set the phone down and picked up her beer, her lips set in a grim line.
“I didn't say that,” she said, following him into the living room.
“You didn't have to,” he said, sinking onto the couch. “Be careful, Viper. He's working on it. If you throw an added spoke into the wheel, he won't take it well.”
Alina was silent for a moment as she sipped her beer, then she sat next to him, leaning back tiredly.
“I know,” she agreed. “I'm just getting impatient.”
“Has he cleared you to find Asad?”
“I'm cleared to find out what they're planning,” she answered slowly. “Once I do, I can have Asad.”
Hawk glanced at her.
“How close are you?” he asked.
Before she could open her mouth to answer, her phone began vibrating against her thigh. She frowned and dug it out of her pocket.
“Yes?” she answered.
“And just where the hell have you been?” Michael demanded.
Her lips creased into a scowl.
“You're the second one to ask me that,” she muttered. “I wasn't aware I had to check in.”
“I've got information, but I can't tell you over the phone,” Michael told her. “Are you still in DC?”
“No.” Alina stood up and crossed over to the mantle. Damon watched her go curiously. “Why don't you trust the phone?”
“Just being cautious. You really need to hear this.”
Viper paused at the tone in his voice and pursed her lips thoughtfully. It wasn't like Michael to be dramatic. If he didn't trust the phone, he had a reason.
“I can meet you tomorrow morning,” she said, after a moment. “Around eight?”
“Where?”
“Do you remember the first time you met John?”
“Yes.”
“I'll meet you there.”
“I can do that,” Michael said after a moment. “I'll see you at eight.”
Viper disconnected and looked across the coffee table to find Hawk watching her with those penetrating blue eyes of his.
“What's going on?” he asked.
“Michael has information he doesn't want to give me over the phone,” she answered with a frown.
“You think the gunny found something?” Damon asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Appears so.” Viper moved back to the couch, setting her phone on the table before dropping back down next to him. “I told him to find Asad and Co.”
“You what?!” Hawk choked on his beer.
Alina watched, amused, as he exploded into a coughing fit, leaning forward as he did so. She whacked him on the back helpfully, eliciting a grunt and another round of coughing.
“Really, Hawk, you don't need to be all dramatic,” she murmured, her eyes dancing.
He shot her a look from watering eyes and she laughed outright. Her hand began rubbing the back of his shoulders, and a minute later, the coughing subsided.
“Why the hell did you tell him to do that?” he demanded finally, sitting back and looking at her.
“Because I don't think for one second he'll find them,” she answered, sliding her hand off his back and lifting her beer to his lips. She took a sip, then shrugged. “He has friends in Border Patrol and across the country that see and hear things I can't. I just need him to point me in the right direction.”
“You're using him as an asset,” Hawk stated. “That's dangerous. He's not dumb, even if he is a Marine.”
“Oh, he knows I'm using him,” Alina told him cheerfully. “He's using me too. He has to protect POTUS and he needs my information to do it. Trust me. We've got a whole understanding worked out on this one.”
Damon sipped his beer, studying her thoughtfully.
“I don't think I like the sound of that,” he murmured. “What was Stephanie doing here?”
Alina blinked at his change of subject, but let his previous comment go unchallenged.
“Delivering that,” she said, pointing to the laptop bag on
the coffee table. “We raided John's house tonight and I took his laptop.”
It was Damon's turn to blink, and he did so in bemusement.
“I leave you alone for one day and this is what you get up to?” he asked. “Do I want to ask why you broke into your ex's house?”
“It was Stephanie's idea,” Alina replied, taking off her boots and pulling her feet up onto the couch, making herself comfortable. “She wanted to find out what warranted a bomb in the wheel well. I went along to make sure she didn't walk into something bigger than she was expecting.”
Damon sipped his beer, watching as she got comfortable next him.
“And?” he prompted when she showed no indication of continuing.
“We were interrupted. She went out the window with the laptop and I stayed behind,” Viper told him with a shrug.
His lips twitched.
“Of course you did,” he murmured. “Who was it?”
“Dominic.” Alina turned to face him, her knees resting on his thigh. She laid her cheek on the back of the couch and pursed her lips thoughtfully. “I think he was looking for information...or the trigger.”
“He knows he's a walking dead man without it.” Hawk hooked a hand behind her bent knees and gently pulled until she straightened her legs, stretching them over his lap comfortably. He propped his feet on the coffee table and crossed his ankles, leaning his head back, his arm resting over her legs. “What do you think is on the laptop? You don't honestly think he found anything connected with Al-Jibad, do you?”
“He found something,” Alina answered, sipping her beer. “If I wasn't completely convinced of it before, I am now. Someone set his house on fire after we left.”
Hawk glanced at her, his eyebrows soaring into his forehead.
“Say again?”
“Apparently, the place was torched.”
“That's why Stephanie went tearing out of here?” She nodded and he lifted his beer to his lips. “Dominic?”
“I don't think so,” Viper said slowly. “He was searching for something, but he wouldn't set a fire to cover it up. He wouldn't take the risk, knowing that he was seen there by someone.”
“Someone could be trying to tie up loose ends,” Hawk murmured, “but I wouldn't think Asad would be interested in a Federal Agent. That's something the Cartel would be more likely to do.”