She wrinkled her forehead, thinking. “No. Well, maybe.Inside or near someplace big. And it was just a vague impression.”
More mumbling on the other end.
“I should have gone with him.” She couldn’t keep the guiltout of her voice. “If anything happens to him it’s my fault.”
“Kelly, listen to me. I want you to calm down and hear whatI have to say. Rick has been doing this for years. Having you and Xena alongwould have given him an extra edge but he’s operated a long time without it.And I have to say, I wasn’t too excited about taking an untrained civilian intoa war zone.”
“I would have been fine,” she protested. “I can take care ofmyself. Xena takes care of me. And I can shoot.”
Dan gave a small chuckle, breaking the tension that hummedacross the connection. “I think I’d have paid money to see the look on Rick’sface if he saw you pull out a gun. Listen. This should all be over and done bylate this afternoon. I’ll give you a call as soon as I get the all clear fromthe guys. Okay?”
“Could you…” She bit her lower lip. “Could you call me backafter you get him on the satellite phone? Let me know what he says?”
“Yes. I can do that.”
“Thank you.”
She replaced the phone and took Xena’s face between herpalms. “I should have gone, no matter how absurd it sounded. If he gets killedI’ll have no one to blame but myself.” She leaned her face down to the dog’s.“Why did you have to pick someone like him for your second human?”
But the image of the tall, muscular man with the dirty blondhair and blue eyes that blazed with energy shimmered in her mind. A funnyfeeling had raced through her during that first meeting at the airfield. Againduring the visit here she felt the same sense of connection. Of shared energy.
Of sexual attraction. Say it, Kelly. You’ve got the hotsfor him.
Those phone calls had only ramped it up. She wanted thechance to act on the promise of something between them.
Sighing, she rose from the bed.
“Come on, Xena. I need coffee, then we have to check onwhat’s happening at the kennel.” She tugged on her bottom lip with her teethand picked up the sheet of paper Mia had left with her. “Then let’s check outthis website and see what this Lotus Circle is all about.”
* * * * *
“I have failed miserably,” Zarife told his father. “Gabirand his friends are less than worthless. Bumblers. Idiots. Totally incompetent.The Latrobe man is still alive. He took off on the plane and I could not stophim.”
“Did you tell your contact?”
“Yes. I explained everything to him that it was impossibleto get to him in time. If only Gabir—”
“Forget about Gabir. That’s only crying over split milk.What did the man say?”
“That he would handle things on his end. Someone would makesure Latrobe was taken care of.”
“Well, then,” his father said. “There you have it.”
“I hope so. In any event, it is all arranged. You only haveto be ready to take his phone call and rendezvous with his people.”
“Fine. Then you have no worries.” He paused. “Did youtransfer the money?”
“Yes. This afternoon.”
Right after that voice that I hate called to tell me wewere on target.
“And our seller knows that?”
“Yes, Father. We’re all set.”
“He’s right, you know,” the man said.
“About what?”
“We could not have pulled this off ourselves. It’s too bigan operation. It’s only his planning that’s making it work. With our support.”
“If you say so.”
“I do. Now go to work and act as if nothing is wrong. Wewill talk again when the deed is accomplished.”
* * * * *
The C-130J thundered across the skies, its enginesreverberating through the cavernous body of the plane.
“Can you talk a little louder? I can hardly hear you.” Rickwas sitting in the one extra seat behind Mike and Ed. He had a hand clapped toone ear, the satellite phone held tightly to the other. “This is like flying ina garbage can.”
“I said,” Dan shouted, “Kelly called and said I needed towarn you to be extra alert.”
“Why? Did she get a message from her dog?”
“As a matter of fact, yes.”
“Hey. I was just kidding.”
“No joke, Rick friend. Any more than Faith’s telepathy orMia’s precognition.”
“So are you going to tell me what she said?”
Still shouting, Dan related what Kelly had told him. Rickjust held the phone tightly to his ear and shook his head back and forth. He’dfinally managed to adjust to Faith and Mia’s gifts but this was getting to be abit much. Yet hadn’t he believed it enough to make the trip to Maine? To askKelly to bring Xena to Iraq with him?
“She’s got to be talking about the warehouse,” he told Dan.“All right. I’ll talk to Ed and Mike and Greg when we get there and put a plantogether. They won’t catch us with our shorts down.”
“Don’t get too cocky,” Dan warned. “We don’t even know whenthis is supposed to happen. And keep your eye on Greg. Just in case.”
“We’ll take care. I’ll call you back when we get there.”
“All right. I told Kelly I’d let her know I passed along hermessage.”
Rick was silent a moment, the air filled with the enginedrone. “How is she?” he asked finally.
“I think feeling nervous and guilty,” Dan told him. “Betternot get yourself shot or you’ll ruin her day.”
Rick laughed. “Not half as much as it will ruin mine. Catchyou later.”
He thought about trying to explain the call to Mike and Ed,then decided against it. Although they were good with Mia and Faith andaccepting of the developing Psi department, of all the partners they were stillthe biggest skeptics in the agency. No, he’d just say Dan had called to tellthem once again to be extra sharp on the job. Hopefully, that would take careof things.
* * * * *
Kelly spent a busy day with the dogs, but Rick, the trip toIraq and her conversation with Mia were constantly on her mind. After a quicksandwich and cold drink she spent an hour on her computer surfing The LotusCircle website, amazed at what she was finding. She wasn’t such a rarity afterall. There were postings from others, both men and women, who had the samehuman-animal connection she and Xena had and examples of situations where thathad been invaluable. She looked up Faith’s Aunt Vivi and was stunned at boththe knowledge the woman had to share and her revered position in the Circle.Finally she checked Mia and Faith and found they were definitely for real.
Maybe after Rick got back and she could stop worrying abouthim, she’d fork out the money to get her helpers to put in some extra timeagain and take that trip to Maryland. She was developing a healthy curiosityabout her relationship to Xena and how it could be used in the Phoenix Agency’soperation.
When the type on the screen began to blur, she shut down forthe night and crawled back into bed.
She tried to fall asleep again but no matter how she triedit eluded her. She lay in bed with Xena stretched out beside her, the big headon her shoulder, feeling the thumping of the dog’s heart. Her own restlessnesscommunicated itself to Kelly, leaving her in a state of agitation.
Rick Latrobe’s image kept dancing before Kelly’s eyes,something else guaranteed to keep her from settling down. With her unhappysocial history, she tended to keep her defenses up where all men were concernedbut Rick had somehow slipped in under them when she wasn’t looking.
It must be Xena, she told herself. The dog’sextremely unusual instant attachment to the man had somehow created a three-waylink. What other explanation for the sudden reaction of her hormones, for thedry-mouthed sensation when she looked at him, for the latent longings of herbody that she’d kept so well under control.
When the phone rang she picked it up immediately.
“Dan?”
“Sorry it t
ook me so long to get back to you,” Dan Romeoapologized. “We had an emergency come up here that had us all scrambling.”
Kelly sucked in a breath. “Something to do with Rick?”
“No. And I’m sorry you had to wait to hear from me, butthings got really dicey around here with another case we’re working on. Anyway,I got in touch with him and passed along your warning.”
“He thinks I’m crazy, right?” she asked, already regrettingher impulsiveness.
“Not at all. Remember, psychic phenomena are continuing towork their way into our lives. And he was more than agreeable to the suggestionthat you and Xena go with him.”
“I should have gone,” she told him yet again.
“You’ve got to get past that and remember what I told you.Rick can take care of himself. And now he’ll be even more on the alert.”
“Will he call you when they get there? And when everything’staken care of?”
“Yes but I imagine it will be a couple of days beforethey’re ready to come back. He needs to make sure everything’s secure,something he’s still worried about.”
“Will you… Could you… I mean, would it be too much troubleto ask you to keep me up to date?”
“No. Not at all. I’ve got your number and I’ll program itinto my cell.”
“And let me give you my cell in case I’m out of thehouse or working with the dogs.” She rattled off the numbers to him.
“All right. Try to get some sleep. I know it’s been anupsetting time for you.”
Sleep. As if.
“I will. And…thank you.”
She lay back down again but she knew she’d had the last bitof sleep she was going to get until morning.
* * * * *
Rick shifted in the improvised seat behind the flightstation, rolled a thin blanket up and tucked it behind his head. Knowing he hadlong hours of hard work ahead of them when they finally reached theirdestination, he tried to make his mind a blank and catch some sleep. But themoment his eyes closed and he dozed off, the image of a tall, slender redheadrunning through a field of wildflowers intruded on his thoughts. Her face wastilted to the sun and her tempting lips were turned up in a smile. Runningbeside her, ears back, was a strange-looking dog. If Rick didn’t know better,he’d think the dog was smiling too.
Suddenly they both stopped. The dog threw herself sideways,knocking the woman down. Then she turned so Rick could see her entire face andbarked. Twice.
In his sleep Rick frowned. The dog was trying to tell himsomething and he couldn’t make it out. There was an urgency in the animal’seyes and in her bark.
Then the image faded and Rick’s eyes popped open. Whateverthat was, it left him with an unsettled feeling. He looked at his watch. Twohours to reach the refueling stop. He’d call Greg Jordan while they were thereand make sure everything on that end was secure. And check in with Dan and Markat the same time.
* * * * *
“Troy called to say it’s pretty quiet at the office,” Miatold her husband as she poured him his morning coffee.
“Good. We could use a little lull in the action right aboutnow.”
“Did you get back to sleep at all? I heard you get up.”
Dan carried his mug to the table. “I was too restless. Idecided to do some research on the Ovcharkas and animal Psi.”
Mia raised an eyebrow. “Did you find anything more than wehad the other day?”
Dan leaned back in his chair and stretched out his longlegs. “You wouldn’t believe how much I found. This is the most amazing stuff.There are stories about things dogs with special abilities have done that wouldhave you talking to yourself.”
“I really, really want to get Kelly down here,” Mia toldhim. “She could help us reach out to others who have dogs with the sameabilities. And also help us plan a program to pair dogs and agents.” Shefrowned. “I wonder if there will be other examples of triple links?”
“I don’t think you’ll find a situation like Rick, Kelly andXena too often but it’s possible. We can select a few of our agents to startthe program with, purchase the dogs for them and work with them the way Kellyhas with Xena. If she’s as good with training as her reputation says she is, itshouldn’t be too difficult to get the program started.”
“That sounds like a great idea. I think I’ll give her a calland mention it to her.” She carried a plate of cinnamon toast to the table andset it between them. Breakfast was never a big meal in the Romeo household.
“I’d wait until Rick is back safe and sound before doingthat,” her husband suggested. “Right now I think that’s foremost in her mind.”
“When do you think they’ll be back?”
“I’d say they’ll be there a week. Rick’s determined to makesure the security procedures they set up work and that everyone can handle theequipment properly. More than that, to make sure nobody tampers with thecargo.”
Mia sighed. “I have a feeling it’s going to be a long week.”
Chapter Six
Greg Jordan was waiting for them when the Hercules C-130Jrolled to a stop at the far end of BIAP, next to the Grainger Caldwellcompound. Next to him was Amin, the man Rick knew Greg had chosen as hissecond-in-command, the one who helped keep a tight rein on the locals theyrecruited. Rick had met him on the last trip and was still reserving judgmentas to his abilities and his loyalty. He cast an appraising eye over the man ashe introduced himself to Mike and Ed, then scanned the silent group of menbehind him. Nothing seemed out of whack. Yet.
“We’re all set, guys,” Greg told them, waving in thedirection of the warehouse. “Amin and I personally inventoried what’s still inthere and moved it to one end to make room for this cargo.”
“Any more thefts?” Rick asked.
“No. Not since the last one. I think it was just kids seeingwhat they could get away with.”
Rick grunted. “They got away with some pretty expensiveequipment. I hope you’ve made plans to keep all of this stuff safe. It’scosting Grainger Caldwell a pretty penny.”
“Not to worry. I’m doubling the guard as soon aseverything’s off-loaded. Tomorrow morning when everyone reports in, we’lldistribute the equipment to each of the groups.” He looked at Ed and Mike. “Idon’t know if Rick gave you the layout but right now GC is working on threeprojects—one roadway and two substations. They’re pretty much responsible forrewiring the sections of the city still without power. And getting the mainhighway out of here repaired.”
“So you’ll have three separate security units protectingeach convoy as it goes out to work?” Mike asked.
Greg nodded. “And standing guard during work hours.”
“We want to avoid any possible ambush on the way out of theairport,” Rick reminded everyone. “I’ve already seen and heard of too many convoyswaylaid by suicide bombers with IEDs, shot at, most of the people killed orbadly wounded. They’re laying in wait for us, Greg. We need to be on fullalert.”
“No one will touch your people,” Amin said quickly. “The menare trained to provide the necessary protection. I swear it.”
Rick made a rude sound. “Cut the crap, Amin. I’ve seen thepeople you recruited for this, remember? I can’t believe they miraculouslyturned into top drawer guards in a week.”
Greg stepped forward and took Rick’s arm, leading him towardthe plane. “We’ll do just fine. The guys you sent over from the States willkeep the others in line. Come on. Let’s get this stuff out of the plane. Iimagine you guys want to eat, catch a little shuteye and get the hell out ofhere.”
Rick stopped walking. “Forget that. We’re here for a week,to make sure nothing goes wrong.”
For a minute Rick thought something indefinable flashed inGreg Jordan’s eyes. Then it was gone and a grin pasted itself on his face.
“Glad to have you here at the BIAP Hilton,” he joked.“Nothing but the finest accommodations, as you know.”
“Good. Fine.”
“You look a little the worse for the wear. What happened?”
“A little accident. Nothing to worry about.” He looked overhis shoulder at Mike and Ed, who were watching him carefully, ready to taketheir lead from him. “Let’s do it.”
With the constant sound of planes landing and taking off asbackground noise, they began to offload the cargo from the plane. The processprobably took twice as long as it should have because Rick insisted everyonehave a copy of the freight manifest and everyone check each piece as it cameoff and was stored. Finally everything, including the Humvees, was safelyinside the warehouse. Two of Amin’s men rolled the doors closed and Rickhimself set the combination on the lock.
“All right.” He looked at Greg. “Where are the guards fortonight?”
Greg nodded to Amin. “That’s what his men are for. They’llwork in two-man shifts, changing every three hours.”
“What’s wrong with the guys from the States? They too goodfor this?”
Greg shrugged. “I thought they ought to get a good night’srest and be fresh tomorrow. The construction crews will finally be starting offto work their gigs and everyone will have to be on high alert.”
“Wait.” Mike frowned. “You mean no one’s actually beenworking yet?”
“It’s okay,” Rick told him. “They’ve been going out in smallcrews surveying what had to be done and getting their plans together.Security’s been riding with them in borrowed vehicles, using the weaponsalready here. But now they’re ready to start the heavy work. We’re right onschedule.”
“Okay, Ace. If you say so. But I think one of us should behere with each set of guards tonight.”
“Agreed.” He turned to Greg Jordan and saw the rigid set ofthe man’s face at Mike’s words. “I know you think they can handle this but it’sour ass on the line if something goes wrong. Let’s not argue about this, okay?”
“Fine by me.” He motioned for two of Amin’s men to comeforward. “These guys will take the first shift. Who’s going to be theirbabysitter?”
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