by Margaret Kay
The man who had pulled her into the helicopter came in front of her and dropped to his knees. She watched his mouth move and heard him chuckle through the headphones. His hands pulled hers from the edge of the seat. “You can let go now. The pilot shouldn’t have to pull anymore evasive maneuvers.”
Sienna clutched her hands together on her lap as she stared into his steely gray eyes. He had sharp facial features which made him look harsh, scary. He too wore black tactical gear. A rifle was slung over his shoulder, two pistols holstered on his legs.
Doc considered the woman carefully. She was clearly traumatized. His eyes flickered to Garcia’s then back to the woman. Garcia still held her tightly. Oh shit, another one, he thought. “Are you hurt anywhere?” He finally asked her.
Sienna grabbed Razor’s arm, her panic multiplying. “Who are you people?” She demanded, finding her voice.
“I’m Doc. You’re safe,” the man kneeling in front of her said. His eyes flickered to Razor. “Welcome back.”
Garcia nodded.
The blonde man came up beside Doc. “Sienna, I’m Cooper. We’re the good guys, here to protect you.” He focused his eyes on her, holding her gaze in the unusually colored depths. They were a shade of honey. “We’re taking you to a secure location that is off the grid and impenetrable.”
“Coop,” she heard Razor’s voice. She turned her head to look at him. “My cover’s not blown. I can catch up to the group at the campground tomorrow night. Drop me someplace before going to the Silo.”
“That’s a negative,” Cooper said. “You’re out and with us. This is higher priority.”
“Damn it Coop, the mission isn’t over. I can still,” he said, but was interrupted mid-sentence.
“You’re out, Garcia!” Cooper barked. “That mission is over.”
Jackson pulled himself up from the cover position and slid the door shut. He came over to join the party. He slapped Garcia on the shoulder. “Missed you, man, welcome back,” he said with a warm smile.
Madison came into the group beside Cooper. She had removed her helmet and let the cascade of blond curls free from the bun she wore when tacked up. She smiled at Garcia. She knew how he felt, to be pulled before a mission was complete. “Welcome back, Anthony,” she said. Her eyes settled on Sienna. “Thank you for not shooting me. I’m Madison. It’s nice to meet you,” she said with a nod.
Sienna forced a small smile. “I’m glad I didn’t shoot you either.” Her eyes swept over these strangers and then focused on Razor. “I don’t understand,” she admitted.
His lips twisted into a smirk. “I’m glad I was there to catch you. You’re safe now.”
“We’ll debrief at the Silo,” Cooper said. He nodded to Doc.
Doc moved away and rummaged through his kit. He returned with a small vial filled with a clear fluid. He twisted the lid off. “Sienna, I need you to drink this,” he said, holding it out to her.
She eyed the vial suspiciously. “What is it?”
“Charity, Sienna,” Razor spoke. Her eyes left the vial to gaze into his. “The Silo is a secure location. You can’t know where it is.”
She shook her head. “I can’t see where we’re going. Blindfold me to take me off this helicopter if you want.”
“It doesn’t work that way,” Doc said, drawing her attention back to him and the vial hanging in the air between them. “You can’t even know how long it takes to get there from here.”
She shook her head no. “You’re going to drug me?” She demanded in outrage.
“This will put you into a twilight, much the same as having your wisdom teeth pulled. You won’t be completely out, but you’ll have no conception of the passing of time. And you won’t remember anything. You won’t be out all the way though. It’s a safe sedative,” he added, like that would make any difference. He knew it wouldn’t. It never did.
“No!” She screamed, backing away from Doc, leaning closer into Razor. They were crazy if they thought she was going to allow them to drug her.
“Shh, shh, sweetheart,” Razor said. “I’ll take care of you. I’ll stay with you and hold you the entire time you’re out.”
Her head swung around, and she glared at Razor. “I’m not drinking that!”
She heard a heavy sigh through the earphones. Her eyes were still on Razor. It hadn’t come from him.
“You’re drinking this one way or the other. Let’s do this the easy way,” Doc said.
She grabbed onto Razor as Doc’s free hand took hold of her upper arm. “Please, don’t let him,” she begged turning herself into Razor, burying her face in his chest.
“Doc, hold on,” Garcia said. “Force isn’t necessary.” He cupped her face in his hand and raised it to look into his. “Come on, Sienna, you know you can trust me to take care of you.” His eyes bore into hers.
“And you know I can’t give up control,” she replied.
“Listen to me,” Madison’s voice spoke forcefully. “You can trust us and the reason you can trust us is no one else knows the location of the facility, because anyone else whose ever been there has been out, like you’ll be. If there is a person in this world, I would trust with something like this, it would be Anthony. If he says he’ll stay with you the entire time you’re out, you can believe that he’ll stay with you the entire time you’re out. He won’t even leave you to go take a piss.”
Sienna’s eyes silently questioned Garcia’s. This couldn’t be happening.
“It’s true, the man has a bladder like I’ve never seen. He once laid in wait for thirty-six hours without taking a piss. We almost changed his callsign to Camel, but Razor was appropriate for many other reasons,” Cooper said with a laugh.
Razor smiled a more relaxed grin. It felt good to be back with his team, his brothers, his friends. “Yeah, I ain’t no fucking camel.”
Sienna heard several voices chuckle.
“Sienna, it has to be this way,” Razor said. “Make it easier on yourself. Drink the vial, just like a shot of Jack.” His lips tipped into a grin.
“You have no idea how scary this is,” she said, her eyes pleading with Razor’s.
“Yes, I do. Trust me, sweetheart,” he said with a wink.
She glanced back at the vial and at Doc. His face showed resolve. “If I don’t willingly drink it, you’ll force me?” She asked, but already knew the answer. Doc’s nod wasn’t necessary. Tears filled her eyes and she shuddered. Her shaking hand reached out and took the vial from him. Her eyes flickered briefly to Razor before she brought it to her lips and downed it.
“Open your mouth,” Doc ordered. He had to be sure she wasn’t holding the liquid in it. She wasn’t. She complied and opened wide. “Thank you,” Doc said. His eyes went to Razor. “Make her comfortable.”
Seconds later Sienna felt lightheaded. She was barely aware of Razor and Doc swinging her into a reclined position in Razor’s arms, her legs up on the bench. She tried to keep her eyes open and focus on Razor’s face. He drifted further away, the blackness crept in and overtook him until the last pinprick of light was extinguished and all sounds ceased.
“Don’t fight it, sweetheart, just close your eyes and let it take you,” Razor said. “I’ve got you.”
The five of them watched her try to keep her eyes open and focused on Garcia for several more minutes. It was a fight she lost. The effects were normally instantaneous. She had fought longer than most. Finally, her frame relaxed, and her full weight was within his arms. Cooper reached to the panel beside him and flipped a switch.
“I turned her ears off, but left her mic on, just in case,” Cooper said.
“Coop put me back in play,” Garcia pled.
Cooper narrowed his gaze on him. “Fuck, man, you barely made it out. You don’t know you weren’t compromised. Besides, she’s the mission now, more important than Jorge Gomez.”
“Do you have any idea who those guys were back there? Tenacious fuckers,” Jackson asked Garcia.
“I didn’t even know w
e were blown until you sent me the message to get her out,” Garcia said. “Thanks, by the way.”
“We had eyes on the surrounding area. The pattern of them moving in was unmistakable,” Madison chimed in.
“So, not professionals?”
“Dunno,” Cooper said.
“The Tangos at that deathtrap you tried to hide in were speaking Spanish,” Madison said. “According to the intel I pulled on your sleeping beauty, her recently deceased husband spent a lot of time in Colombia,” she paused and blew out a breath, “software engineer, my ass!”
“You think her husband’s death was related to the Jorge Gomez case?” Garcia asked.
“I don’t like coincidences,” Madison remarked. “Either him or one of his competitors.”
“Her deceased husband, one Greg Andrews also made several trips to Dubai,” Jackson piped up. “And several other hotbeds. He warrants a much closer look.”
“I’ll know more when I can get my hands on a keyboard and do a deep dive,” Garcia said.
Cooper’s lips pulled up into a grin. Welcome back Garcia! “As soon as we’re at the Silo.”
“I’m going to review the protocol used to run her prints too. If anyone compromised her, I’ll personally fire his ass,” Garcia said. “She’s smart, covered her tracks pretty well. I don’t see how she would have been tracked.”
“You can’t ever be too sure about that,” Jackson said. “Who was the intermediary who brought her to your cover?”
“A sleaze-bag by the name of Michael McKnight. I’m going to run him to ground too and if that ass-hole sold her out I’ll kill the fucker,” Garcia swore.
“That sounds like something your biker persona would say, not you Anthony.” Madison stared at him with a piercing focus.
He ran his fingers through his long hair, gazed up, and blew out a breath. He shook his head as he returned his eyes to hers. “You’re right. I need to decompress and disengage.”
“You were under for six months. That’s a long time. It may take a while. Just be aware,” Madison said.
He nodded. “Thanks,” he mumbled.
His eyes returned to Sienna’s relaxed, sleeping face. He knew it wasn’t the biker persona talking. It was him, Anthony Garcia. He felt protective of her, had to. He’d almost gotten her killed, and if anyone had a hand in getting her discovered or selling her out, he’d make them pay. He leaned his head back against the bulkhead and closed his eyes.
They arrived at the landing strip near the Silo and quickly transferred their gear and Mrs. Sienna Andrews to the waiting SUV for the short drive to the Silo. The sun would be up in an hour, but they’d be under the protective fortress that was the Silo by then. Garcia carried her into the elevator, not waiting for anyone else. The others were all gathering equipment. He’d almost gotten the door shut before Doc jammed his arm in to stop it. The others all crowded in.
When the doors slid open, everyone piled out. Garcia walked more slowly. Doc went to the end of the hall and entered the code into the holding room door. He looked back expectantly. Garcia was heading to the hallway that led to their personal quarters.
“Garcia,” Doc called as he rushed to catch him. He gave Garcia a silent, palms up and a hard stare.
“No, she’s going to my quarters. She’s not a detainee. I gave her my word and I’m keeping it,” Garcia said, veering off towards the door to his quarters.
Doc and Cooper exchanged looks. “Another one of you bites the dust,” Doc mumbled under his breath. He shook his head and entered the code into his own room, disappearing through the quickly closed door.
Madison wrapped her arm around Cooper and the two stepped towards their room. “He says that like it’s a bad thing.”
“He’s just jealous. Wait till Angel gets in tomorrow,” he added with a laugh as Madison swung their door wide.
Delta
Sienna came awake slowly. She was warm. A solid frame was pressed against hers, Razor’s, she knew right away. After all, he was the only man she had laid in a bed with in several years. The room was quiet. The pillow beneath her head soft, the mattress she laid on comfortable. As she became more aware, she realized her head was free of headphones. She laid still, sensing no movement. She was no longer on that helicopter. Her body wasn’t constrained within a jacket, boots, or jeans. Her bra was off too.
She stretched her leg out. Her calf slid along Razor’s bare leg. She ran her hand up his arm, over the smooth flesh of his strong shoulder, and over the splattering of hair on his shirtless chest. She felt him move closer. His warmth pressed to her as he embraced her more tightly. She would admit she had missed cuddling with a man and waking in his arms.
“Where are we?” She mumbled when her voice cooperated with her a few seconds later.
“In my quarters at the Silo,” he answered softly. “How do you feel?”
“Like I’ve been drugged,” she replied both honestly and a little sarcastically.
Razor chuckled. “You were. Do you remember?”
“Yes, not much after drinking it though.”
“You fought it hard. I wasn’t surprised. You’re a fighter, sweetheart.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You’re safe. I promise. No one can get you here at the Silo.”
“Now what?”
“We’ve got an hour until we all gather to debrief.”
“I need a shower and some coffee,” she moaned.
“After,” he said. His hand caressed over her body. He leaned in and kissed her, a deep passionate kiss. She felt him press an erection into her thigh.
“Whoa, not so fast, cowboy,” she said pressing her palms against his chest. “Who are you? Razor? Garcia? Are you guys military, cops, or what? And what were you doing with that biker gang? McKnight knew of you. How can that be?”
“Wow, that’s a lot of questions.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “My name is Anthony Garcia. Razor’s my callsign. I also used it during that deep cover Op you crashed. I reprised a cover from several years ago. Razor was well-known in certain circles back then and many were happy to see that persona make a reappearance. This time, I was under for six months before you stumbled your way to me.”
She took a second to process all that. “So, who exactly are you? US Military, private military, a fed?”
Razor chuckled. “All of the above, I guess.”
“So, this Silo that we’re at, is it a military installation?”
Razor shrugged. “This is a secure location off the grid that no one knows about. You are perfectly safe here,” he assured her as though he could read her mind.
“How did you know who I was?”
“I took your prints with a special app on my phone while you slept that first night and sent them to my team.” His voice was matter-of-fact and nonapologetic.
“That’s how they found me, son-of-a-bitch!”
“Not likely. Your prints were run in a jar. No one would know we were searching for your identity, at least that’s what was supposed to be done. I’ll backtrack the searches and be sure protocols were followed. If someone fucked up, I’ll have his head,” Garcia swore.
“I don’t understand what that means.”
“We didn’t take your prints and send them out for hits against the databases. When we run something in a jar, we import the databases into our system which we copy over to a closed network and run your prints in isolation,” Garcia explained.
“So, how’d they find me?”
“That’s what we need to figure out. We’ll talk about that too at the debrief.”
“Too?” She asked.
“You were on the run. Your husband was murdered and there are a lot of questions. I read the police report when you found him dead and all of the reports you made about the home invasions after.” He stated it so casually you’d think he was talking about the weather. And when did he have the time to read anything? How long was she out?
She noticed he didn’t ask a single question, but that didn’t stop her from w
anting to explain it as though she were defending herself. “The detective assigned didn’t believe me, but someone was repeatedly entering my house. And I didn’t kill my husband, Razor. I loved him.”
His lips twisted into a smirk. “I didn’t ask.”
“I know, but you had to be wondering.”
He pulled her closer. She had managed to pull away from him while they talked. “I didn’t think for even a second you killed him. It’s not in you.”
