Witness Protection: Moving Target

by Jet MacLeod

  Finally her hearing returned. She could finally make out what they were saying to each other. She had to will herself not to move too much. She didn’t want them to know that she was breathing, just yet. God, her whole body hurt, but she needed to wait for an opening. She snuck her hand down to her side. How they didn’t see it surprised even her, but they didn’t. She realized that she didn’t have her gun.

  Damn it. Where the fuck did it go? Wait, do I have anything to fight with? She asked herself. Somehow in the slight movements, her fingers hit her tomahawk. A small, sly smile graced her lips. She didn’t need her pistol when she had the hatchet. She just needed to know where Rudakov was and she could end this quickly. Their argument got louder. She decided to no longer restrain herself. She let her movements be seen.

  “Angela?”

  “What Mikhail Alexei Rudakov? What do you offer me? What do you think that you have in your power to give me that I want?” Angie asked him.

  “Your life,” he stated through clenched teeth.

  “That was never yours to begin with. No, tell me. What would you give me to spare you?”

  “Money, power, anything you want,” he told her.

  “Anything?”

  “Anything,” he replied with a finality.

  “I want Del back. I want to be able to see her eyes and to know that she didn’t die in vain for me. You give me Delia back and I’ll let you go, you sick sonuvabitch, you fucking bastard.”

  “I can’t do that,” he said.

  “I know.”

  “Ask me for anything else and I’ll give it to you,” he demanded.

  “There is nothing else I want, nor do I need.”

  “You need her?”

  “More than you will ever know,” Angie answered.

  Delia felt her heart swell. She exaggerated her breathing. She heard Angie’s gasp. She knew that Angie finally knew that she was still alive.

  Del turned her head up and looked up into her blazing sapphire eyes. She turned from Angie’s gaze and saw Rudakov’s twisted gaze. She saw him raise his pistol from Angie to her and she reacted. She flew up onto her knees, hatchet in hand.

  It took every ounce of energy that she had, but she knew that Rudakov had to die. There was no way around it. She leaned back as much as she could towards her feet and threw the hatchet at him, using her body to gain more momentum in the throw. She watched as it crossed the room and buried itself in his chest. She saw the look of surprise in his face as he fell to the ground in a lump of dead flesh. He’d lost…completely.

  Del heard Angie fall to the floor and saw her on her knees. Somehow the sight of her like that, crying and strong, pulled at Del in a manner that she couldn’t name. They’d won. She’d saved Angie. And, she’d heard Angie’s confession. It was a good day. She summoned the strength of ten men as she crawled across the floor to Angie’s shaking frame.

  “I’ve got you, Angie. I’ve got you, now. I told you that I wasn’t going to let anyone hurt you,” Del told her gathering Angie into her arms and holding her close.

  She ran her hands through Angie’s auburn hair. She held her tight, afraid that if she let go Angie would disappear. She could feel Angie’s tears on her cheek.

  “Shh, Angie, I got you.”

  “You’re alive…”

  “I told you that I was going to keep you alive. You didn’t think that a couple of bullets would stop me. I’ve have worse battle wounds,” Del told her, trying to make her laugh in spite of the situation.

  “Delia…”

  “Hold on, Angie. There is something that I need to do,” she told her as she tried to stand up and failed more than once before finding purchase on her feet. “Do I want to know how you got my pistol?”

  “I…you…it…”

  “Don’t worry about it. Just keep a hold of it for now. I’m going to make sure that he is dead,” Delia told her as she made her way slowly across the room to Rudakov’s body.

  She bent down to make sure that he was really dead. She felt for a pulse and felt none. When she was satisfied that he was dead, she reach out and pulled her tomahawk from his chest. She wiped it on his shirt and put it back on her side. She stood up and crossed the room.

  When she got back to Angie, she knelt back down. She took stock of how Angie looked and the look in her eyes. She pulled off her gloves. She needed to touch her. She needed, for them both, to know that it was real. She brushed her fingers across her cheek. She felt Angie’s warmth beneath her fingertips and she smiled.

  “I’ve got you, now, baby,” Del told her as she leaned forward and kissed her.

  Angie could feel the passion behind it. She knew it. She wanted it. She’d dreamt of it.

  All too soon the kiss stopped and Del pulled away. Angie watched as she raised a hand between them and touched the black band around her throat. She just simply stared into her brown eyes and waited for Del to say something.

  “I’ve got the package, boys.”

  Angie’s brow frowned in confusion. Del just held her hand and smiled. She stood them up slowly. She tucked her bloodied gloves into her belt and moved towards the door.

  “I understand that Sanchez, but I don’t think that I want to tempt going out the front door. I am sure that SWAT is already to assault. How about that Huey? Can I get an air lift out of here?”

  A wave of understand flowed through Angie. She realized that the black band around Del’s throat was some sort of comm device. It also meant that Sanchez was in the area. And, if Sanchez was there, then Cole couldn’t be that far away. They had all come for her.

  “Give me ten minutes to get to the roof. And, yeah, Cole, she’s fine. She gave them hell. I’ll meet you at the rendezvous point. Just tell the SWAT guy where it is. Thanks, guys,” she told them and then smiled at Angie with her megawatt smile.

  Angie just stared at her. She wasn’t sure that she was ready to see the carnage that Del had left in her wake to get to her, but she knew that they needed to go. There was no need to stay there any longer. She looked at her hand in Del’s and saw how small her hand was in comparison.

  “Time to go, Angie.”

  “Del…”

  “We’re okay, Angie. We need to go. SWAT is going to storm this place soon and I don’t want to be here when that happens. We are going to head up to the roof and get a ride out of here, okay? Everything is fine. We’ll see Cole and Sanchez soon. You ready?” she asked her.

  “Yes,” Angie said with every fiber of her being.

  Del took her hand and led her to the door. Before she could open it, Angie tried to give her the pistol back. Del just smiled at her and shook her head. Instead, she let go of Angie’s hands and drew her knife and hatchet.

  “Keep it. Just in case, you know? I’m going to go first and make sure that the coast is clear. Stick close behind me and watch your step. It is…well…it’s kinda messy out there.”

  Angie just nodded. She was still in shock and didn’t know what to say anyway. She was actually speechless at the moment and frightened. She flattened herself behind Del. When she put a hand on her back, Del finally opened the door to hallway.

  Del could feel Angie’s body tense behind her. She didn’t give her really any time to process the bloody gore in the corridor. She pulled her along and down the hallway. She didn’t stop until they made their way into the stairwell.

  When they got into the stairwell, Del could feel Angie pause. Del didn’t want to talk while they were still there. She wanted to wait until they were alone. She knew that Angie needed to talk, but the stairwell wasn’t the place. She put her knife and tomahawk away. She grabbed her gear and loosely put it on. She didn’t buckle it. She just let it hang open on her shoulders. She reached over and grabbed her M4, checked and slung it over her shoulder. Angie just watched her and realized how mechanical and second nature it was for Del to do it.

  “Del…”

  “Not here, Angie. We’ll talk later, I promise. But, not here, we need to go up. Can you go?”


  “Yeah, I can.”

  “Good, let’s go. Stay close. I’ve got you. I am not going to let anyone else hurt you,” Del told her as they started up the stairs to the third floor.

  The more Del thought about the journey to the roof, the more she decided that they would take the fire escape. She didn’t want Angie to see anything that she didn’t need to and the fire escape was the easiest way. She knew that the fire escape went all the way to the roof.

  She pulled Angie through the third floor hallway and into the office that she’d come in and into the area where the fire escape. She pushed Angie out and onto the grating. She heard Angie grunt, but she didn’t say anything about the rough treatment. Del realized that she didn’t mean it. She just wanted to be away from the warehouse. She would check Angie later. First they had to get away. That was really the only thought on her mind. Get to the extraction point.

  They ran up the metal stairs and to the roof. The helicopter was waiting on them. They could see the Tahoe PD decals on it. Angie finally relaxed as they came up on to the roof and she saw it. She watched as Del stopped at the edge of the roof and packed away some of her gear into the small backpack and other military gear. Angie just watched her.

  “Angie, you okay?” Del asked her.

  “You’re alive.”

  “I am. We’ve already established that. What’s wrong?” she asked her.

  Angie just stared at her. She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know what to say.

  “Angie, are you okay? Did you get hurt? Did something happen?”

  “I…you…I watched you get shot.”

  “Oh, Angie, I am okay. It will take more than two bullets to slow me down. You know that. You’ve seen the scars.”

  “You took two to the chest, Delia. You just don’t get up from that. I saw the blood pooling on the floor. There is no reasonable explanation for you to be alive right now. I watched you die.”

  “I’m not dead, Angie. I never was. I was hit, yes, but I didn’t die.”

  “But all the blood?”

  “I’ll show you…just come with me. Let’s get on the Huey and get away from here. I promise that will explain everything later. Can we just get away from here, now?” Del asked her.

  “No.”

  “Angie…”

  “Don’t Angie me, Delia. How the hell are you still alive? Tell me how.”

  “I was wearing body armor.”

  “And, the blood?”

  “It wasn’t all mine.”

  “There was so much though…”

  “I know, Angie. I am sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m okay. I promise.”

  She gathered Angie into her arms and held her for a few moments. She backed up from their embrace and stared into Angie’s eyes. She could still see the questions and she knew that Angie wasn’t going to drop it, either. She just needed to bite the bullet and show her. She took off her gear and dropped down by her side. She took off her utility belt and dropped it on the gear. She took the pistol from Angie and put it in the holster. She reached up to her neck and found the zipper to her suit. She slowly pulled it down to just above her belly. She heard Angie gulp.

  Del let out a sigh. She pulled on the sleeves of her suit and pulled them down and off one at time. She worked her shoulders out of the suit and let it hang around her waist. She stood before Angie in just a black wife beater. She sighed again, knowing that the helicopter pilot was about to get an eyeful.

  “Angie, it is a prototype body armor that Sanchez and Cole designed. It took the hit. The blood you saw wasn’t really all mine. Hell, none of it was really mine. Some of it was the blood transfers that I got from fighting my way to you.”

  “And the rest?” she questioned needing to know.

  “The rest was just some synthetic blood. It was more like maple syrup than blood. It is to make it look realistic. The consistency and the flow rate have been studied and replicated. My body armor is basically full of squibs. If I get hit, it really looks like I get hit. It gives the enemy false hope, but it can also help us get out of a situation via emergency services if needed. I am sorry that you thought that I actually got hit.”

  “But, your eyes…you…your face…”

  “I couldn’t believe that he actually shot me. I can’t believe that I lost my concentration for that split second that it took for him to shoot me. I realized that I had put you in danger. I’m sorry.”

  “You’re apologizing for rescuing me?”

  “No, I am apologizing for losing my concentration.”

  “Delia, shut up,” she told her as she kissed her, hard.

  Del grimaced as Angie squeezed her tight. She didn’t have the body armor on to protect her torso. Angie felt her body tense, backed up and let go.

  “What is it, Del? What’s wrong? You did get hit, didn’t you?”

  “Yeah, he shot me, but it isn’t what you think,” Del told her.

  “Then explain it to me.”

  Del lifted the wife beater. Angie could see the two giant bruises on her chest. One was directly on her heart and the other was on her right breast. They would have been a heart and lung shot.

  “How?”

  “Just because I have on armor doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt. I still got shot. It bruises most of the time. I’ll be okay.”

  “Most of the time?”

  “Yeah, sometimes the force is still strong enough to break a rib or split the skin. It just depends on the caliber of the weapon and the type of plating that you are wearing.”

  Angie reached up and touched her chest, gingerly. She looked up into Delia’s eyes. There was a fire in them and Angie was prepared to be burned by it. In fact, she wanted it.

  “Can we go, now?” Del asked, pulling her shirt back down.

  “As long as we go together,” Angie told her, reaching down and grabbing her belt.

  They walked hand in hand to the helicopter. Del helped her in before she got in behind her. She dropped all her gear at her feet. She patted the pilot on the shoulder and they were off.

  Once they were in the air, Angie leaned over to Del and kissed her cheek. She grabbed Del’s hand, needing to touch her, to make sure that it wasn’t a dream and she was really alive and beside her. Del let her. She smiled at her.

  Angie leaned closer to Del’s ear and told her, “I want you to see a doctor.”

  “I’m fine, Angie, really.”

  “I’ll be the judge of that,” Angie told her.

  “I am sure that you will,” Del told her, squeezing her hand for emphasis.

  Chapter 34

  Del took a deep breath as they landed. She knew that Cole and Sanchez wouldn’t be that far behind him. The pilot set them down just inside the camp ground. She saw the Suburban about sixty yards away. She looked over at Angie and pointed to it. Angie nodded understanding that she was to go straight to it.

  They climbed out of the helicopter. Angie headed towards the SUV and Del knocked on the pilot’s door. He opened the window and stuck his head out a little.

  “Thanks, man, for the lift,” she told him.

  “No problem, Lieutenant. Tell Cole hey for me. Old Sarge, miss that man.”

  She looked at him quizzically and then smiled. Cole and all his damn former recruits everywhere, she would never be rid of them. They nodded at each other. Del picked up her gear and made her way over to the Suburban.

  Angie was already in it waiting for her. She opened the back door and threw her gear in the back seat. She pulled the pistol and kept it in her hand. As she got in the driver’s seat, she sat the pistol down on the center console. She wasn’t going to be unarmed no matter where they were going. Angie didn’t say anything. She just stared at the pistol and then smiled at Del.

  Del started the vehicle. She drove off towards their cabins, passed all the campsites, and with a purpose. Angie didn’t ask her how she knew where to go. She knew better.

  Del was tired. She was exhausted. She knew that Angie was goin
g to want to talk about what happened, but she hoped that she would be able to convince to wait until the morning. Her whole body hurt, but she wasn’t going to let Angie know. She had done her job. She protected Angie. She got her back and she was safe. She wasn’t going to let her guard down like that again.

  “Del?”

  “Yeah, Angie?”

  “Are Sanchez and Cole staying close by?”

  “Yeah, they are in the other cabin.”

  “Good.”

  “Why?” Del asked her.

  “Then, you can stand down for a while and let them be my security.”

  Del just looked at her. She didn’t know what to say. Angie was looking out for her, now. She was about to say something to her, when Cole and Sanchez pulled up in another SUV.

  She looked over the black SUV and wondered what goodies they had stowed away in it. They got out slowly. Each of them smiling at Angie before nodding to Del. She returned the gesture automatically. Cole gave her a grin, a knowing grin, before he closed the distance between them.

  “Lieutenant, good to see you,” Cole stated, extending his hand for a handshake.

  “And, you too, Sarge,” Del answered shaking his hand.

  Sanchez saluted her saying, “Ma’am.”

  She returned the salute and then gave him a look that told him to stop it. He just smiled at her as he dropped his salute. He gave her a hug before she could stop him. She returned the hug and actually melted into the taller Latino. He leaned in and whispered something in her ear which caused them both to giggle as they backed away from each other.

  “No, yo no lo haría,” she told him.

  “Si, Lieutenant, si,” he replied before falling in a fit of giggles. “We both know that you would.”

  Angie just cocked an eyebrow at them. Cole just laughed at them both. He knew that they always fought like brother and sister and it did him good to see them back at their old antics. They cared for each other in their own way and knowing that Del was falling harder and harder for Angie made it easy for them to accept Angie into their impromptu and odd family dynamic.

  “Are you alright?” Cole asked.

  “I am fine.”

  “No, you aren’t,” Angie stated.