Elimination

by Jackie D.

  “I understand our limitations. I’ll take what I can get. If it’s only for this limited time, I’m okay with that.” Emma ignored the voices in her head, warning her to stop talking. They were screaming advisories, trying to protect the heart her body had no issue betraying.

  Dylan’s features softened, and she moved closer. “Are you sure? I don’t want to hurt you.”

  Emma leaned closer, her mouth so close to Dylan’s she felt the hitch in Dylan’s breath. Her mind screamed one more warning, but she ignored it. She closed the finite distance between their mouths. She heard herself groan with the relief and excitement her body felt from their contact. She sought Dylan out greedily, wanting to feel every part of her. She wanted to memorize every inch of her. She wanted it all seared into her memory. Every curve, every muscle, every scar, she’d keep them with her. She wanted to be able to play back these feelings, these sensations, the smells, the noises, at a later time. She’d need them to be able to get through. She needed to know she’d have them later, when she no longer had Dylan.

  * * *

  Tyler watched Brooke wipe the remainder of her makeup off in the mirror. Seeing the pictures Dylan had taken left a pit in her stomach. She knew they weren’t real, but she couldn’t dispel the images all the same. They needed O’Brien to believe Brooke was dead. She wouldn’t play ball with them otherwise. Carol believed they’d lie to Brooke’s father, pretending she was alive to draw him out, only to reveal she was dead in order to prove they could get to anyone. Tyler was glad it was Dylan and not her that had to keep all of this straight. Pretending had never been one of her strong suits.

  Brooke pulled on her tank top and came to sit next to her on the bed. “What’s going on in that mind of yours?” Brooke ran her fingers through Tyler’s hair.

  Tyler chose her next words carefully, not wanting to give the impression that she didn’t have faith in her. “Taking out four guys can get a bit squirrely. What’s your plan?”

  Brooke stroked Tyler’s cheek. “You asking as my girlfriend or the ranking officer on this mission?”

  Tyler kissed her palm. “Both. I’d ask anyone on my team what their plan was if the odds were four against one.”

  “We’ll take in a delivery van as cover to get into the parking garage. I’ll wait until the fifteen-minute mark when they check in to allow myself the most time. I’ll hop out of the van to show them what’s in the back. When one of them is turned to open the back, I’ll use the succinylcholine to take out the first guy and administer a dose to the next one before the first even hits the ground. I know that I have to inject it directly into their necks for it to work in under a minute, so I’ll need to be fast and careful. It will completely paralyze them for approximately six minutes.” Tyler nodded her approval, and she continued. “I’ll drag the bodies to the side, then knock on the door to the hotel. I’ll move outside his peripheral, forcing him to step into the garage. When he does, I’ll paralyze him too. The other guard will follow suit and he’ll be met with the same outcome. Then, hopefully, Emma will have O’Brien in place and we’ll paralyze her too. Then we’ll throw her in the back of the van. We drive straight to the empty field in Moskovskaya Oblast, sixty-five klicks south of Moscow. It shouldn’t take us more than one hour and fifty-two minutes. We’ll be picked up by a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk. That transport will take us to Poland, and we’ll go home from there.”

  Tyler traced her thumb over Brooke’s palm. “And how long do you wait for us before you go?”

  Brooke stared at her, tears starting to fill her eyes. “Eight minutes.”

  Tyler placed her finger under Brooke’s chin, forcing her to make eye contact. “You can’t wait longer. That helo can hide from radar, but it’s not invisible. If anyone notices it, they’ll call it in, and eight minutes is the response time. If you’re not out of there, we’re done.”

  “I know.” Brooke wiped a tear away from her eye. She sighed. “You and Caden will start firing on the meeting. Dylan will return fire as if she’s protecting Nikolai from the attack. She’ll shove him into the car by himself and take him to the alternative safe house. Once they arrive, CIA reinforcements will meet her there and work on turning him into an asset. Dad will take Walker into custody and bring him to the embassy in the car he drove to the meeting location. Jennifer will stay behind and run surveillance through the city, hotel, and street security cameras. She’ll also monitor their communications, keep us abreast of everything that’s happening and their whereabouts. She’ll leave immediately after we board the helo for the US Embassy in Moscow. Once she’s there, she’ll be put on transport to head home and meet us back in the States.” She looked down at her hands. “So, there’re only about one million things that could go wrong.”

  “You know I’ll always find a way to come home to you, right?” Tyler had told her this dozens of times before, but she wanted her to remember it now more than ever.

  Brooke nodded. “Yes.”

  Tyler slid off the bed and knelt in front of her, placing her hands on Brooke’s knees. “We met during one of the most confusing times in my life. After being hurt in Iraq, I didn’t know what I was going to do with my life. I’d never known anything but military service. I didn’t know what my direction would be, and I felt helpless. Then I met you. You were smart, fierce, and were so full of tenacity, it caught me off guard.”

  Brooke kissed her. “You tried to play hard to get.”

  “I did. You were off-limits. More than that, I thought you deserved better than me. I was a mess. But you’ve always felt like home. I don’t thank you for that enough.” She pulled the ring from her pocket and almost laughed at the way her hands were trembling. “I can’t promise you that I’ll never make mistakes. I can’t promise that I won’t do things you don’t understand or that won’t upset you. I can promise that I will never hurt you intentionally. I promise that I’ll love you every day, for the rest of my life.” She took a deep breath and looked up at Brooke’s smiling face. “Brooke, will you marry me?”

  Brooke covered her mouth with her hands and started to cry. Her hands were trembling with so much force, Tyler had to hold her left hand steady as she slid the ring onto her finger. Brooke grabbed her and kissed her, mumbling her acceptance to the proposal against her lips over and over again.

  The elation was all-consuming. Tyler felt grateful, joyous, and so filled with love she thought she might explode. Brooke would be her forever, and there was nothing she had ever wanted more.

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Dylan and Emma waited in the entryway for Ivan. He’d gone to announce their arrival to Nikolai, leaving them with a few moments to themselves. Emma had her face tilted up, admiring the large stained glass windows. The different colors were reflecting off her face, and Dylan got momentarily lost in her admiration. Emma must have felt her looking because she dropped her eyes, settling on Dylan.

  “You’re beautiful.” Dylan mouthed the words, wanting to keep the moment private.

  Emma blushed and turned her attention to Ivan, who was coming back down the hallway full of purpose.

  “Sasha, Nikolai will see you.” He turned toward Emma. “You can wait in the parlor with me.”

  Dylan took several deep breaths as she headed for Nikolai’s office. She needed to pull this off. She needed to be convincing. She needed this to work. Not just for her sake, but for the rest of the team. This was the first domino in a long line necessary for their success.

  Dylan entered Nikolai’s office and was surprised to see Bogdan sitting next to Carol. He shot her a look that left no room to question his feelings about her. He detested Dylan as much as she did him.

  “Sasha, where is your little whore?” Bogdan smiled when he said it, but she could tell from the look in his eyes, it was meant to be a dig.

  “I haven’t seen your wife in ages, Bogdan. You should check with your brother.” Dylan made sure not to smile when she spoke. She had no need to hide her feelings. She didn’t work for him.


  “That’s enough, you two,” Nikolai said as he drained the brown liquid from his glass. “Sasha, where are you with locating those women?”

  Dylan opened her phone and pulled up the pictures she’d chosen as the most realistic. “It’s handled.”

  Nikolai picked up the phone and scrolled for a few moments. “Where were they?”

  Dylan and Tyler had already agreed to give him some information but not the truth. The CIA had another safe house in a different part of the countryside. One that hadn’t been used in quite a few years, but would work perfectly for the cover story.

  Dylan sat in the chair closest to Carol. “Safe house northeast of here. I left a message at the location for Calvin Hart. He’ll go there when he hasn’t heard from them.” She made sure Nikolai met her eyes before she continued. “I told him the only way he’d see his daughter again was to meet with us and that I’d be in touch. I also explained that if he notified anyone else, it would be the end for him and his daughter.”

  “You should have brought him to me, Sasha. The sooner the better.”

  “I couldn’t drag him in off the street. He’s in a very visible position. You wouldn’t want me to attract any undue attention. It would be terrible for business.” Dylan cocked an eyebrow. She hoped her expression would articulate that he should already know what she was saying. Making someone feel foolish worked well as a gag. If they didn’t kill you for it.

  Nikolai didn’t seem pleased with the last bit of information. His eyes crinkled, and he frowned. “What assurances do you have that he isn’t on the phone with Langley right now, setting us up?”

  Dylan cocked her head. “Your mole would tell you, wouldn’t he?”

  Carol took the phone from Nikolai and scrolled through the pictures. At first, her face was contemplative, and then it split into a wide smile. “I spoke with him yesterday. He was in contact with the women a few days ago, but they haven’t spoken since. He did tell me about the safe house location, in case we had trouble finding them. It seems to match where Sasha says she found them.” She handed the phone back to Dylan, giddy with excitement. “Where are the bodies? I’d love to see them.”

  Dylan forced herself not to recoil in disgust over Carol’s excitement. “The river. I dumped them there immediately after.”

  “Pity. I would’ve loved to spit on them,” Carol said.

  The smile on her face told Dylan that she meant it.

  “I am curious, though, how you managed to get to them. Many people have been trying for years without success.”

  Dylan knew this was a potential question and was glad she’d prepared. “They felt safe where they were comfortable. I hit these two first.” She pointed to Caden and Tyler. “While they were out for a run around the property.” She opened the pictures of Jennifer and Brooke. “These two were inside, typing away on their computers. They never saw me coming.”

  “Where are the computers now?” Carol leaned closer to Dylan.

  “In the river with them. I didn’t want to take any chances. Who knows what kind of software was loaded on there? I didn’t want to lead anyone back here, to Nikolai.” Dylan forced herself to remain in the same spot, despite her mind and body screaming to increase the space between her and Carol.

  “There you go.” Nikolai hit his desk and pointed at Carol. “Now, you bring me this mole. I need him to secure the deal with Calvin Hart. I want to make sure I have these men in my pocket before we start the next stage of our operation.”

  Carol dipped her head in acknowledgment. “I’ll speak to him. He gets into town soon. I’ll arrange the meeting.”

  Dylan’s ears were burning, but she didn’t want to seem too anxious. “What next stage?”

  Nikolai shot Bogdan a look and pointed to the door. “Carol, let me know when your contact arrives. Help yourself to some pastries before you go.”

  Carol stood and headed for the door. When she walked past Dylan, she placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “Thank you.”

  Dylan acknowledged her with a nod but said nothing. A moment later, she was alone with Nikolai and Bogdan. Bogdan pulled a cigar from his jacket pocket and lit it. Smoke started to billow in the room as he brought the cigar to life, and Dylan focused all her attention on not choking.

  Nikolai walked over to the bar in the corner and poured everyone a drink. “We have a large shipment of girls coming into town over the next few days. I need to get them turned over within a week. I already have buyers for them but need to get them shipped.” Nikolai handed both her and Bogdan a glass. “Bogdan is taking care of the shipping arrangements, but I need you to find a place to store them until they’re ready to go.”

  Dylan tried to ignore the words he was using to describe human beings. “How many?”

  Bogdan snorted. “What does it matter?”

  Dylan glared at him, aggravated by his stupidity. “I need to know how many women I need to accommodate to do my job.”

  Nikolai took a sip from his cup. “About thirty. They’re all between the ages of nine to fourteen. So, they won’t need much.”

  Dylan felt her stomach tighten at the descriptors. These weren’t women, these were children. Children who were being sold into sex slavery. Perhaps they were born into a family without means or lost their parents. Maybe they’d been stolen, victims of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. It didn’t matter. They didn’t deserve this, no one did. Human beings were traded like commodities and being sold to the highest bidders. She hated that she’d never been able to rid the world of men like them.

  * * *

  Emma tried to ignore the way Ivan looked at her while she busied herself getting a cappuccino. He watched her like it was a game. The intensity in his stare was unnerving, and she contemplated how she’d ended up here. She wasn’t trained to be doing things like this. Hell, she wasn’t prepared to do a whole lot except break open encrypted communication and develop software to eventually replace her at work. She’d figured out in her first few days on this assignment that she needed to be flexible in order to succeed. It pushed her out of her comfort zone, made her deal with her anxiety differently, and brought out skills she didn’t know she had. Unfortunately, it took coming here and falling for Dylan to make her think she could actually do these things. Wait. Fall for Dylan? Had she fallen for her? She closed her eyes and focused on the cappuccino in her hand. November eighth is National Cappuccino Day. Kopi Luwak is considered to be the rarest and most expensive coffee in the world. It is grown in Indonesia, and is fifty dollars a cup. The first use of cappuccino in English was recorded in nineteen forty-eight in a work about San Francisco.

  Her internal meditation was interrupted by Carol O’Brien strolling into the room as if she owned the house. Her arrogance was obnoxious at best. Emma also understood that it was arrogance that would likely take her down. Carol’s belief that everything should simply fall into place because that was how her life had always worked was her blind spot. Carol couldn’t possibly imagine being outmaneuvered in the end; her brain would never allow that to process.

  Carol waited for the cappuccino to finish filling her mug. “I’m sorry, I don’t think we’ve ever been introduced. I’m Carol.” She stuck out her hand.

  Emma begrudgingly took her hand. “Nada. I’m here with Sasha.”

  “Oh?” Carol pulled her mug from the machine and took a seat next to Emma on the couch.

  “I must say your English is excellent.” Carol crossed her legs and turned toward Emma. “How do you know Sasha?”

  “My nanny taught me English.” Emma sipped her beverage and reminded herself that she needed Carol to like her enough to trust her. She smiled. “I’m a very good friend of Sasha’s. I’ve been staying with her for the last few weeks.”

  “Have you now?” Carol’s question was rhetorical. Emma could tell by the flatness in her voice. “Will you be attending the gala with her?”

  “I hope so.” Emma didn’t want to sound too committed to any plan they might have.
She knew Carol was smart and didn’t want to give her more information than necessary. “Will you be attending?”

  Carol picked up a pastry from the plate in front of them and took a bite. “Were you with Sasha a few days ago? When she went to the countryside?”

  Emma noted that Carol evaded her question and now seemed to be trying to subtly figure out precisely who Emma was. “I was with her a few days ago, but I didn’t go to the countryside. What was she doing there?”

  Carol tilted her head slightly. “I haven’t decided whether or not I believe you.”

  Emma felt the heat in her body rise. “Which part?”

  Carol put her cup down on the table. “Any of it.”

  Emma could see this conversation was going off the rails quickly, but she wasn’t sure how to recover from it. She replayed the last several minutes in her head. She’d done something to make Carol suspicious, but she couldn’t pinpoint what that would have been. She was going to ask Carol to explain further, but she was saved by Dylan’s entrance into the room.

  Carol’s expression changed, a smile replacing the scowl from a moment before. “Sasha, I want to thank you again for handling my situation with such precision.” She stood and walked to Dylan, taking her hands. “I wish I’d known you years ago. You’d have saved me an awful lot of grief and a great deal of money.”

  Dylan smiled back at her, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “You’re welcome. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

  Carol cocked an eyebrow and ran her hand up Dylan’s chest to her neck. “Are there parameters regarding my request?”

  Emma felt an unease spread through her body. Watching the way Carol touched Dylan, the way she looked at her, made Emma want to come across the room. Emma tried to swallow, her mouth suddenly dry. She was jealous. The sensation was unnerving the first time she’d felt it, but this time, the sensation was like a firebrand in her stomach.