Target on the Mountain

by Elizabeth Goddard

  “Where’s his friend again?” Rachel asked. Alex glanced below. The man had vanished again.

  Uneasiness coiled into the pit of Alex’s stomach. The shooter opened up on them again, forcing their attention from the opening.

  Alex and Rachel returned his shots, but they were using up valuable ammo they didn’t have to use.

  “Hold your fire,” Alex told Rachel. “They could be trying to run us out of ammo then charge the station.”

  She did as he suggested but kept a careful eye on the man behind the tree. “He’s just standing there. Almost as if he’s waiting on something.”

  “Or someone...” Alex’s gaze latched with hers. She shivered visibly.

  With the silent standoff continuing, Alex kept listening for any sound of the missing man approaching. What was he up to?

  The thought had barely cleared his head when something came hurling through the opening. Alex ducked to keep it from hitting him; the smell of gasoline was pungent.

  Seconds later, the station exploded in fire. The man had thrown a Molotov cocktail into the building. The station went up like a tinderbox, filling the room with acrid smoke. Alex hurried to Liam’s side and helped him to his feet. Their once-unconscious assailant was beginning to come to.

  Alex pointed his weapon at him. “If you try anything, I’ll shoot you. Do you understand?”

  Coughing from smoke inhalation, the man glared at him.

  “There’s only three of them! You can take them!” the man yelled, trying to warn his buddies.

  Alex took a step closer and he quickly shut up.

  With the station now becoming a raging inferno, they could no longer go through the entrance. “We’ll have to go out the back window.” Alex headed for the opening that faced the valley below.

  Their only plan of escape was at the edge of the mountain with no way down.

  FIFTEEN

  Rachel looked below them at the sheer drop that was now their only escape.

  “I’ll lower you down first,” Alex told her. “Then Liam. Then this guy. Once you’re on the ground, head right.” Alex’s love for her was shining in his eyes. She smiled up at him, trying her best to reassure him and herself that everything would work out, in spite of what her gut was screaming.

  She tucked her weapon behind her back and climbed through the opening, trusting Alex with her life. He grabbed hold of her arms and slowly lowered her down. There was still a three-foot jump. With her heartbeat threatening to drown out all other sound, she nodded and Alex let go. She dropped to the ground and stumbled on the uneven footing. Somehow she managed to catch herself before she slid over the edge and plunged to her death.

  Rachel blew out a huge sigh and stood on unsteady legs. Alex was as pale as a sheet, clearly terrified by what he’d just witnessed. “I’m okay,” she quickly reassured him.

  Liam’s descent wasn’t nearly as easy. He landed on his injured side, the pain causing him to scream. Rachel rushed to his aid and helped him rise to his feet. They carefully made their way to the safe area. She lowered Liam against a nearby tree and went to help Alex.

  The building appeared close to collapsing. “Hurry, Alex, the station won’t last much longer!” she called out. Once the captured man dropped down, Rachel kept her weapon pointed at him as he headed over to Liam. Behind her she could hear parts of the station collapsing upon itself.

  Alex!

  “Keep an eye on him, Liam.” Rachel didn’t wait for his answer. She had to get to Alex. She couldn’t lose him again.

  “Alex!” she called out. She couldn’t see anything but fire and smoke coming from the rapidly disintegrating station.

  Please, be okay.

  “Alex!” She screamed in panic. She watched in horror as the station crumbled to the ground. The heat from the blaze so intense that she was forced to look away. Was he inside? Had she lost him? The pain that thought brought shot through her, leaving a path of destruction like a bullet’s wound.

  The smallest of sounds close by had her whirling around. Alex! Singed and bloody, he emerged from the firestorm raging behind him. She ran to him. “You’re hurt.”

  He winced as she held him close. “Just a few cuts and scrapes is all. I barely managed to jump out the window before the place went down. Let’s hurry. We can use the fire and smoke as a distraction to get away.”

  They went back to where Liam had managed to stand and was keeping a close eye on his prisoner.

  “Can you walk?” Rachel asked. She could see he was in a lot of pain.

  Liam nodded. “I’ll keep up. Let’s get out of here while we still have a chance.”

  Rachel motioned to their prisoner to start walking. “You go first.”

  He tossed her an evil look. “You’ll never get away. He has people everywhere up here.”

  “Just start walking.” She wasn’t letting him get in her head.

  The man headed in the direction she indicated. Liam moved close so that only Rachel and Alex could hear. “He’s right. They have dozens of men out here.”

  Alex nodded. “How did you get turned onto these guys, anyway?”

  “Through Deacon.” Liam confirmed what they’d suspected. “He’s been deep undercover with someone close to Temple’s crew for a while. That’s how we crossed paths. Temple is the one I’ve been tracking for a while.”

  Rachel started to ask her brother where the sarin was hidden. Before she got the question out, they were ambushed by gunfire.

  “Take cover,” she yelled, and they ducked behind a small grove of trees barely wide enough to cover them. Their prisoner went running in the direction of the shots while yelling for his buddies not to shoot him.

  Rachel peered around the tree. A round of gunshots sounded a little ways from them. Someone screamed. She had no idea what was happening. She turned to Liam. He was slumped against the tree next to her. “Liam!” She could see that he’d reopened his wound and was losing blood again.

  Alex hurried to help her. “Liam, are you able to walk?”

  Rachel shook her head. “He can’t go anywhere, Alex.”

  Liam flinched in pain as she did her best to secure the wound once more.

  “No, it’s okay, Rachel. I can keep up. We have to get out of here. We’ll be trapped if we stick around.” Liam words slurred. He barely had the strength to get them out.

  Before she could answer, a noise close by sent her whirling toward it. One of the men from earlier had his gun pointed straight at them and was ready to fire. Before she could draw her weapon, a shot rang out. The man’s startled expression was the last thing she saw before he dropped to the ground dead.

  Rachel searched in the direction from where the shot had come and saw Michelle standing there with a gun in her hand. Before Rachel could fully comprehend what had happened, Michelle dropped her weapon on the ground.

  “I can’t believe she did that,” Rachel murmured to Alex and then said, “Get your hands in the air.”

  Michelle obeyed and Alex grabbed her weapon. “You saved our lives,” Alex said in amazement. “Why would you do that?”

  But Rachel believed she knew. “You’re the asset who is working with Deacon, aren’t you?” Michelle managed a frightened nod. “You did the right thing. You’re better off with us. Temple will kill you if he discovers you helped us out.”

  * * *

  “Where are the others?” Alex asked, wondering how she’d managed to get away from Temple and his men.

  “The two that were here are dead. I shot them. Your prisoner got away. The rest of Temple’s crew will have heard the shots. They’ll be here soon. We need to get out of here before that happens.”

  “How do you fit into all this, Michelle?” Rachel asked. She appeared just as confused by what happened as he was. “You had your chance to get away before and you didn’t take it. Why help us now?” />
  “I couldn’t before. I didn’t trust you...and I was scared of him. He threatened me. But I can’t let him go through with what he has planned. It’s too horrible.”

  Rachel’s gaze collided with Alex’s. “Who are you talking about?”

  “Peter... Blake Temple,” she amended. “He’s not who he says he is. He’s a monster. Please, you have to stop him.”

  “What’s he planning with the sarin gas?” Alex asked.

  “How did you know about that?” Michelle looked at Alex in surprise.

  “Let’s just say we put two and two together. We know Temple and the rest of his men faked their deaths,” added Rachel.

  Michelle looked from one to the other. “Who are you people?”

  Alex wondered how much they could trust her. But she had saved their lives. “I’m CIA, just like Deacon. You can trust us.”

  Michelle appeared unconvinced. “You’ll understand if I don’t. Temple said he was CIA, too, and he did terrible things. He forced me to work for him.”

  Before she could say anything more, another round of shots rang out close by.

  “Duck,” Alex yelled, and they slipped back behind their tree coverage.

  “That’s him.” Michelle’s eyes grew wide with fear. “He’ll kill me. He’ll kill all of us.”

  “We’re not going to let that happen,” Alex assured her.

  Before Michelle could respond, the woods around them detonated with gunfire.

  Rachel glanced over at him. “We can’t hold them off much longer.”

  Alex searched their surrounding woods. “We’ll have to make a run for it. Liam, can you make it?”

  Liam was barely hanging on, but he was quick to assure him. “I can.” Alex slid a look Rachel’s way. He could read all of her skepticism, yet they were out of options.

  He pointed deeper into the wilderness behind them. “That’s our only way. Go, Rachel.”

  Rachel grabbed Liam around the waist and took off running with Michelle following. Alex covered them as best he could until he was certain they were safe, then he left his hiding spot and ran as fast as possible while shots flew past him, barely missing him several times.

  Alex caught up with them. “We bought ourselves some time. I just hope Jase and the team get here soon. We can’t hold Temple’s men off for long.”

  As they hurried through the woods, Alex kept a careful eye behind them. So far, no one was following. His gut told him it was only a matter of time before that changed.

  SIXTEEN

  It felt like the nightmare would never end. Rachel could hear the men tramping through the woods at a fast click.

  Alex glanced over his shoulder. “I see them. We are way outnumbered.”

  With her heart threatening to explode against her chest, Rachel could feel each breath as it burned her lungs.

  She was barely hanging on. She couldn’t imagine how difficult the trek had been for Liam. He looked as if he was ready to drop. Her brother stumbled and almost took her with him. “Alex, we have to find a place to hide. Liam can’t take much more.”

  She glanced around, searching for anyplace where they might take cover to wait it out until the Scorpion team arrived.

  “Over there.” She spotted a thick grove of trees off to the right where it was impossible to see inside. “It’s worth a try.”

  The four of them headed for the grove. If their plan worked, Temple’s men would keep going straight.

  As they entered the wooded area, Rachel could barely see a few inches in front of her.

  With Alex’s help, she slowly eased Liam down to the ground. She could see he was close to losing consciousness again. Please let help arrive soon.

  Next to her Rachel could feel Michelle trembling. If Temple and his men realized she had been helping Deacon all along, they would kill her without asking questions.

  Over the drumming of her heartbeat, Rachel heard the men working their way through the woods. They were almost right on top of them now.

  Michelle came close to screaming. Rachel covered her mouth with her hand. They couldn’t afford to be found out.

  “Do you see them? They were just here.” McNamara sounded as if he’d been running a marathon.

  “No, but they can’t be far. They have Carlson with them and he’s injured. That should slow them down,” answered a man she didn’t recognize.

  Silence followed while Rachel held on to a breath.

  “Temple wants them found now. Who knows who they’ve contacted? We’re running out of time and our buyer is waiting. If we don’t deliver the sarin soon, it will be bad for us. These people don’t accept excuses,” McNamara said.

  Rachel reached for Alex’s hand and held it tight. As an answered prayer, she heard the men slowly move away from the spot.

  “I think they’re gone,” Alex whispered. “We need to get back to the station, where Jase is expecting us to be.”

  Rachel looked down at Liam. He hadn’t regained consciousness. Tears filled her eyes. They couldn’t leave him here.

  “I’ve got him.” Alex hauled Liam up beside him. It was going to take all of his strength to get Liam back to the station, yet he never hesitated. “You and Michelle head out. I’ll be right behind you.”

  She shook her head. “I’ll follow you. In case those men circle back. Otherwise, you’ll be vulnerable.”

  He slowly agreed. It was their only option. “Okay. Michelle, you know the way. Don’t try anything foolish.”

  The woman was clearly terrified of McNamara. Rachel didn’t doubt for a moment that Michelle had suffered terrible things at Temple’s and McNamara’s hands.

  With Alex all but hauling Liam beside him, it was slow going. It felt as if it took forever for them to make any time at all.

  Rachel kept a close eye behind them. She was afraid the noise they were making would attract the men’s attention. So far, they seemed to have bought their decoy. But for how long?

  Several times, Alex had to stop to catch his breath. Michelle kept a careful watch out for them. Whenever they stopped, she did, as well. As much as Rachel wanted to trust her, she couldn’t bring herself to fully. She’d worked for Temple. To what degree she had been involved in his organization was still undetermined.

  Rachel eased up next to Alex and put her arms around Liam, too. “Let me help you. We can make better time together.”

  He nodded and they slowly made their way along the path. They were still some distance from the station, but she could see it burning above the treetops.

  Behind them, Rachel heard something. She stopped, as did Alex. “That has to be them. We need to hurry.”

  They did everything they could to go faster, but it was impossible. They stumbled several times and almost fell.

  “We’ll never outrun them. We have to find a place to take cover,” she told Alex.

  He shook his head. “We’re almost there.”

  Rachel grabbed hold of Liam again and she and Alex all but ran with his dead weight between them.

  “I see them. They’re up ahead,” McNamara yelled. “Don’t let them get away.”

  “We have to hurry, Rachel,” Alex urged.

  She felt as if she were running blindly, not sure how much farther she could go.

  Michelle grabbed the weapon Rachel had tucked behind her back. “Go. Let me cover you. I can slow them down for a bit to buy you some time.”

  Rachel glanced at Alex. “It’s our only chance.”

  Alex slowly nodded and they took off running again.

  Behind them, shots ricocheted through the woods.

  Once they reached the destroyed station, they found a safe place to hide.

  “I don’t hear anything.” Rachel listened over the noise of her pulse and the fire raging, but there was only silence.

  “I don’t, eith
er. I hope she got out of there safe. Stay here with Liam. I’m going after her.”

  Rachel clutched his hand. “Be careful, please.”

  He smiled down at her and squeezed her hand before heading back to where they had left Michelle.

  Rachel glanced over at Liam. Her brother was mumbling incoherently.

  Lord, we need Your help...

  She barely got the words out when she heard multiple shots fired. Alex!

  Seconds later, more than one set of footsteps came their way. Rachel got to her feet and drew her weapon. She wasn’t going down without a fight.

  With the rifle ready to fire, Alex charged into the wooded area with Michelle close behind.

  He spotted the weapon and stopped dead in his tracks. “Whoa. Hang on, there, Rachel. It’s just us.”

  She slowly lowered the weapon. Relief threatened to buckle her knees. She was on edge. They all were. They needed the nightmare to end soon.

  * * *

  “They’re almost here.” Where are you, Jase? He didn’t want to show Rachel how worried he was, but they couldn’t hold out much longer. McNamara and his men were almost right on top of them and Liam was fading fast. If they didn’t get help soon, none of them would be walking out of here alive.

  “We know you’re in there.” McNamara stopped in front of their hiding spot. “Come out with your hands up and we might let you live. If we have to come get you, it’ll be a different story.”

  Rachel was close enough to see all of Alex’s uncertainties. He didn’t know what to do. Should they keep fighting? Or give up? If they did, would McNamara let them live long enough for Jase to reach them?

  McNamara ordered his men to fire on them. Shots riddled through the space where they stood, forcing them down to the ground.

  Their time was now measured in minutes. Rachel took his hand and looked into his eyes. Seconds passed while he just took in her beauty. Was this the end for them?

  She leaned over and kissed him tenderly. “It will be okay. We just have to keep believing.”