Next Exit, Dead Ahead

by CW Browning

  Stephanie stared at Alina.

  “What do you think is going on?” she asked in a low voice.

  “I think Kwan is a pawn in something bigger and they're using the FBI to manipulate a situation,” Viper said, choosing her words carefully.

  “You think they planned it from the very beginning?” Stephanie asked after a long moment of silence. “Did this whole case get assigned to me by design?”

  Alina was silent.

  “Well, hell!” Stephanie exclaimed, throwing up her hands in exasperation and causing Alina to chuckle despite herself. “You're telling me I've been a puppet on a string for over six months!”

  “You should be flattered,” Alina told her with a grin. “You got the CIA's attention. That's no small feat.”

  “No offense, but I can do without their attention,” Stephanie informed her roundly. “They bring trouble wherever they go!”

  “Just tread carefully with Kwan. I can at least make sure he doesn't slip away from you,” Alina said.

  Stephanie frowned and glanced at her.

  “Not if doing so will compromise you,” she said. “I'd rather lose him altogether then go through another Washington, DC.”

  Alina smiled faintly, her dark eyes unfathomable.

  “I wouldn't worry about that,” she murmured. “I know how to be discreet...unlike your tails.”

  “Ha!” Stephanie grinned at the shot, then sobered. “What the hell am I going to do with Jessica and Marcus when I'm finished debriefing her?”

  Viper glanced at her watch.

  “Take them out to a late dinner,” she advised obscurely, her lips curving into a cool smile.

  The last of the sunlight had disappeared and night had fallen, cloaking the narrow street in the shadows Viper knew so well. She raised her military binoculars to her eyes and scanned the pavement, watching as the nightlife stirred and slid out into the streets. Most got into their late model Mercedes with their tinted windows and slid silently out of the neighborhood, heading to more lucrative endeavors. Some walked quickly down the sidewalks, their hoods pulled up over their baseball hats, trying to get to their destinations as unobtrusively as possible; while others swaggered from their souped-up Mazdas to their doors as if they owned the world. All told, it was a quiet neighborhood and Viper turned her attention to the corner row home next to the narrow alleyway across the street.

  Karl had ended up knowing much more than he was aware of, and Viper had no problem locating the house Jenaro Gomez was using as a temporary base of operations. She studied it thoughtfully, noting the black pickup with the shattered windshield backed into the alleyway. Behind it, concealed from the road, she could just make out the front of Jessica's putrid green crossover.

  A light flashed on in the front window on the second floor and Viper shifted her gaze to the bare window. The glow seemed bright after her study of the darkness and she blinked, her eyes adjusting easily through the binoculars. A male figure crossed the room and Viper zoomed in expertly, watching. When the man turned around to move toward the window, she smiled coldly.

  Jenaro carried a metal case in his hands and, as she watched, he set it onto a folding table in front of the window. He turned his head, speaking to someone out of sight in the room. There were at least two of them, then. Flipping a switch on the binoculars, she switched modes and watched as the binoculars picked up body-heat signatures in the room. There were four others in the room with him.

  Viper was in the process of lowering the binoculars when she thought she caught sight of a shadow moving on the roof of the house. She quickly raised the binoculars again and scanned the roof directly across from her searchingly, but she didn't see anything in the darkness. After a moment of fruitless study, Viper lowered the binoculars, her lips curving slightly.

  Hawk was there.

  Standing, she turned and moved toward the back of the roof swiftly, disappearing into the shadows. Reaching the edge of the building, Viper grabbed the edges of the fire escape ladder and swung herself over the edge. Gripping the rails with her black gloved hands, she moved her feet to the side railings and allowed gravity to pull her downwards. She slid down the ladder swiftly, landing on the ground silently a few seconds later. Rounding the corner of the old, dilapidated building, Alina moved in its shadows to the edge of the street. She paused at the curb, glancing back up to the window across the street. There was no sign of movement, and from the street level she could only see the ceiling of the brightly-lit room.

  Viper ran swiftly across the momentarily deserted road, disappearing into the shadows of the narrow alley just as a low-slung Acura turned the corner. Bass blared from its speakers and shook the ground. Alina ignored it, slipping behind the pickup and moving swiftly along the side of the building until she came to the back corner of the alley and the building. She smiled when she saw the black nylon rope hanging just above her head in the corner. Reaching up, she grabbed the rope Hawk had left for his descent and, hand over hand, started to climb up the side of the building. When she reached the top a few minutes later, Viper glanced around the huge, pitch-black expanse of roof and crouched, still and silent, listening. She was alone.

  She reached into her pocket and withdrew a thin Maglite. Switching it on, Alina shone it quickly around the roof. She stood on a crumbling, weather-worn surface in desperate need of resurfacing. The roof sloped upward a few feet in front of her, flattening out for a couple of feet before sloping down again toward the front of the building. A brick chimney stack protruded from the center of the roof and Viper's eyes went straight to the blind spot behind it. Switching off the light, she moved swiftly along the back of the roof before running silently up the slope to the chimney. She peered around the blind side, clicking on her light again to shine it across the roof. No one lurked in the dark shadows between this roof and the adjoining roof of the next house and she clicked the light off again, glancing back towards the front of the building.

  Viper dropped the Maglite back into her pocket and pivoted on her heel, going back the way she came. She moved swiftly and silently along the flat-topped roof until she reached the edge, high above the alley. Looking over the ledge, Viper smiled when she saw the small, dark open window a few feet below her. Without a second thought, she grasped the edge of the roof above the gutter and swung her legs over the edge.

  A second later, she slid through the open window silently, following the path she knew Hawk must have taken. She landed on a linoleum floor, between a toilet and a bathtub, wincing as her hand brushed a can of shaving cream balanced on the edge of the tub. She caught it swiftly before it clattered to the floor and set it back gently, listening intently. A muffled crash came from the far end of the hallway outside the bathroom and Alina moved to the door, pausing to peer around the edge.

  Shadows cloaked the hallway, concealing cracked and naked walls. Alina raised an eyebrow as her eyes fell on a woman, slumped on the floor against the wall. Dressed in black leggings and a red shirt, a black gag was tied across her mouth and her hands bound behind her. A wooden baseball bat lay on the carpet nearby.

  Viper moved out of the bathroom silently and down the hall, pausing near the woman. She slid off her glove and bent down, pressing two fingers to the side of the woman's neck. When she felt the faint pulse, she glanced at the bat again, her lips twitching. She knew from experience that it was damn near impossible to catch Hawk unawares, and clearly this woman had discovered that for herself. She probably didn't even know what hit her.

  Alina replaced her glove and stood up swiftly as another crash, louder than the first, sounded from the living room, followed by the unmistakable pop of suppressed gun fire. Viper pulled her .45 from her back holster, flipping off the safety as she ran down the hallway silently. As the living room came into view, she watched a medium-height, dark-skinned man slide down the back wall, blood spreading over his chest. A machine gun lay on the floor nearby, dropped when the bullet ripped through his body.

  Viper paused and pres
sed against the wall, leaning forward and peering around the edge of the wall toward the front of the living room. A smile crossed her face when she saw Hawk standing over an inanimate Jenaro Gomez. Three other Cartel soldiers were littered around the living room, dead. After scanning the room, she tucked her gun back into her back holster and stepped out of the hallway. Hawk didn't even glance in her direction.

  “Is the woman still out?” he asked, bending over Jenaro.

  Viper smiled.

  “Yes,” she answered, glancing at the man on the back wall as she passed. “How did you know I was here?”

  “How did you know I was in the room the other night?” Hawk retorted, pulling a wallet and set of keys out of Jenaro's pocket.

  “Is the rest of the place clear?” Viper asked, her lips twitching.

  “Yes.” Hawk straightened up and finally looked at her, his arctic blue eyes glinting. “Welcome to the party.”

  Alina began to return the smile when a click sounded from the direction of the front door on the other side of the living room. Hawk's head snapped around, but Viper was already halfway to the door. He watched as she reached down and pulled out her military knife from her boot before silently wrenching the door open.

  A broad-shouldered, stocky man turned away as Viper opened the door. She smiled coldly.

  “Going somewhere?” she demanded, her voice like ice.

  The man swung around and Alina found herself facing a younger, unscarred version of Jenaro Gomez. His eyes flashed and a Beretta glinted in his hand as he raised his arm.

  The heel of her boot caught his wrist, snapping it effortlessly, and the gun fell harmlessly to the floor as her knife embedded itself in his opposite shoulder. The man began to howl with pain and Viper moved forward swiftly, cutting off the sound with a blow to his throat from her left elbow. He choked, doubling over, and she raised her right arm, bringing her elbow down unerringly. The man fell into her waiting arms, unconscious.

  Alina caught him and glanced around quickly. Only one other apartment graced this floor, and the door was closed tight. If the neighbors heard his split second cry, they had wisely decided to ignore it. She backed up, dragging him through the open door behind her. Kicking the door closed, she hauled him over to the couch, pushing him onto it with a huff.

  “Was he the only one out there?” Hawk asked, coming over to the back of the couch.

  “Yes.”

  Viper reached down and pulled her knife out of his shoulder, wiping it clean on his chest.

  “Good.”

  Hawk turned back to Jenaro and Viper rounded the couch to join him. Jenaro lay on the floor, unconscious, with blood dripping from a gash above his temple. She glanced at Hawk.

  “You know that's cheating, right?” she asked breathlessly. “They have to be conscious when you kill them, or it doesn't count.”

  “Just because you're impatient and strike instantly doesn't mean I'm cheating. I'm not leaving his body here, where Hanover can take the credit,” Hawk retorted, tossing her a roll of duct tape. “Do you mind?”

  “Not at all,” Viper answered, catching the tape with one hand and turning to her right at the same time. With one smooth movement, she pulled her back-up pistol from her leg holster and fired a single shot behind her. Hawk looked up, watching in surprise as the man with the bullet in his chest fell back again, her bullet in his forehead. The automatic dropped from his lifeless fingers, falling harmlessly to the floor again. “I thought you killed him already?” she demanded, snapping her head back to Hawk.

  He shrugged.

  “I thought I had.”

  “Should I check the rest? Did you miss anyone else?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “I didn't miss,” Hawk retorted.

  “Oh really? Have you thought about glasses?” Viper asked, bending over Jenaro and securing his mouth with the tape.

  “No, you didn't just go there,” Hawk muttered. He picked up Jenaro's phone from the floor and tucked it into his pocket. “Don't make me bring up why you favor your right side.”

  “I don't favor my right side,” Alina snapped, wrapping tape around Jenaro's wrists swiftly. She scowled at Hawk. “That was a temporary thing, and it healed years ago.”

  “Uh-huh.” Hawk turned to grab the metal case from the table. When he lifted it, he found a handgun and grabbed it. “Whatever lets you sleep at night.”

  “Oooh,” Alina growled, her eyes flashing as she turned her attention to Jenaro's feet. “Come over here and I'll show you.”

  “Baby, we're busy.” Damon winked and tossed her the extra gun. “Work now, play later.”

  “You're lucky I like you,” Viper muttered, catching the gun with one hand and tucking it into her cargo pocket while she finished securing Jenaro's ankles with the other. “But don't push your luck.”

  “I wouldn't dream of it,” Hawk murmured, coming over to her. He looked down at Jenaro Gomez, unconscious and trussed up with duct tape. “We need to get him out of here.”

  “We need to do it fast,” she agreed, glancing up at the sound of a helicopter. A spotlight appeared on the horizon through the window as sirens sounded a few blocks away. “Looks like Hanover is on his way. Roof?”

  “No time.” Hawk glanced at Jenaro, then at Viper. “Babylon.”

  “Oh, you're an ass!” Viper exclaimed.

  Hawk burst out laughing.

  “It's Babylon or Gomorrah. Take your pick,” he told her.

  “You're going to pay for this,” Alina informed him, dropping Jenaro's ankles unceremoniously. She rapidly pulled her knife out of her boot again and reached into her back holster for her .45. Damon held out his hand and she handed them to him before unstrapping her leg holster and passing it to him.

  “Don't forget the one I just gave you,” he reminded her and Viper nodded, pulling it from her pocket and handing it over.

  “I don't know when, or how, but I will personally make sure I get you back for this!” she said, turning toward the hallway.

  “Looking forward to it,” Hawk retorted with a grin, stowing her weapons away in his own cargo pockets before bending down and hoisting Jenaro's motionless body over his broad shoulder. He followed her into the hallway and kept going when she stopped in the door to a bedroom. “Until then, happy trails.”

  Alina glanced over her shoulder at Damon, striding away with Jenaro tossed over his shoulder like a sack of grain. She paused, watching as he headed toward the kitchen. When she didn't answer, Hawk turned his head. His eyes met hers. She smiled slightly, her eyes softening, and Damon felt as if she was sucking his soul right out of him.

  “Take care of you,” she murmured softly.

  Hawk lowered one eyelid in a slow, sexy wink.

  “Break a leg,” he replied.

  Viper grinned as he disappeared into the kitchen. A few seconds later, she heard him open the window and drop onto the fire escape. She turned back into the bedroom and went straight to the closet, pulling out a variety of women's clothing at random.

  When the banging began at the door a few moments later, Viper was ready. She slipped out of the bedroom and into the living room, sliding down onto the floor as the front door crashed open.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  “You mean to tell me the only ones left are two women, and neither of them can tell us anything?” Blake demanded, striding up the stairs to the second floor furiously.

  “Pretty much,” John answered, keeping pace with him stride for stride. “A man too short to be Jenaro ran out the front door as we pulled into the street, but he's long gone. He disappeared into the woods along the river before we even stopped.”

  “And the women?”

  “One was found in the hallway, unconscious and tied up. She says she heard a noise, came out of the bedroom with a baseball bat, and that's all she remembers. She didn't see the person who hit her.”

  “Typical.” Blake reached the top of the stairs and started down the hallway. “What's the story with the other one?”<
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  John grinned as they approached the open door to the apartment.

  “See for yourself,” he said, waving Blake forward.

  Blake glanced at him, raising an eyebrow, and strode into the apartment. He stopped abruptly, taking in the scene before him. SWAT agents were milling around securing the apartment, while a woman sat on the couch, rocking back and forth. Her dark hair hung around her face in long, unkempt clumps, and a dark, fading bruise covered half her face. Swollen and heavy-lidded eyes gazed blindly ahead while she muttered to herself continually in Spanish.

  John came up behind him and Blake glanced at him, startled.

  “She was unconscious on the floor when SWAT came in,” John told him. “They checked her for weapons, then brought her around. Apparently, she woke up yelling in Spanish and hasn't shut up since.”

  “Do you speak Spanish?” Blake asked John, studying the woman.

  She wore a long, black skirt and bright turquoise shirt. Black boots graced her feet and the shirt hung off one shoulder, revealing a black tank top strap. She seemed to be dressed at random, as if she had just thrown on the clothing without regard to color or style.

  “No,” John answered. “One of the agents downstairs does, but he said he couldn't make out more than a few words.”

  “That's because her dialect is unusual,” Blake murmured, tilting his head. “She's from one of the Southern regions of Mexico.”

  “You can tell that just from listening to her?” John asked, looking at him in surprise.

  Blake grinned.

  “I've spent some time in Mexico,” he replied. “She's from the same region as Jenaro.”

  He glanced around the living room, noting the four bodies, and turned his attention back to the woman on the couch. She stared straight-ahead, her swollen eyes glazed over.

  “Find me a blanket,” he told John. “She's in shock.”

  John nodded and disappeared out the door. A moment later, Blake heard him yelling from the top of the stairs for a blanket. He moved forward slowly, heading for the couch. As he grew closer, the woman suddenly started and raised her head, directing that startled gaze on his face. He only had time to notice that her eyes were as dark as her hair before she started shaking her head violently back and forth.