“Careful, Mansur.” Honey pushed past him to pick up the secure phone lying on the truck seat. She slid in with one leg dangling outside the door. Honey narrowed her eyes at Mansur after quickly dialing.
“Wouldn’t want Essid to know that you…” just then the other end of the line connected. Honey kept her eyes on Mansur as he began to move road gravel around nervously with the toe of his boot. “They’re leaving.” Honey sighed. “I don’t know! I suppose to town. Those kids are nonstop motion. Mr. Scott looks worn out. He was up moving around pretty early this morning, checking windows and doors. After that he read until daylight then dosed off in his chair. Guess he’s spooked about the escaped convicts.” She switched the phone to the other ear. “Good. Who are you sending?” Honey’s face darkened. “And then can I shoot him?” The line disconnected.
~ ~ ~
Never had Tessa imagined that a helicopter could be so loud when she’d boarded at the airport. Taking the Black Hawk would enable them to land at the lab. She covered her ears at first until Zoric gently placed a set of headphones on her head. He’d smiled, almost fatherly at her, and then changed the mood when he buckled her into the seat. His touch had been a little too personal. Jerking back into the seat to avoid his long boney fingers only drew a satanic smile from his narrow lips.
Relieved at seeing the captain jump into the front seat, Tessa watched him turn his eyes back to her then to Zoric. He patted the ghoul on the shoulder then mouthed Knock it off! Zoric fastened himself in next to Tessa. Reaching over he patted her hand in reassurance then withdrew.
Tessa felt her stomach lurch as the helicopter lifted. This time no blindfold was needed. No threats to quiet. The urgency had escalated to where everyone focused on something other than herself.
Once more her family swam into her mind: laughing, singing, catching butterflies and dipping toes into the cool waters of Lake Tahoe. Picnics, fishing poles and star gazing were all a part of the paradise Tessa had sacrificed for her anger and pride. Never again would she be so careless with the gift God had given her. Did they miss her? Could Robert take good care of her babies? Please, God! Let them be safe. Send them an angel.
Tessa had never viewed the Smokey Mountains from the air. Having traveled more than most, Tessa always compared the faraway places she visited to east Tennessee. Nothing came close to the beauty of the land or the hospitality of the people. “A slice of Heaven,” her father had said every summer when they’d made their annual vacation trip to Gatlinburg.
“Daddy, I’m going to live here someday,” Tessa would proclaim.
“I hope so, baby girl,” her father would laugh. “Then I can come see you all the time.”
Growing up just outside Nashville in Franklin, Tennessee, had given Tessa a normal childhood with all the trappings of living in a small, quaint town. Her parents had been childhood sweethearts, married, had three children, worked hard and gone to church every Sunday morning, evening and Wednesday night potluck for her entire life. Going off to college at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville had seemed like another world. Tessa knew she’d be close to her beloved Smokey Mountains and accepted the scholarship before even discussing it with her parents.
Had that been when Tessa began down that road of independence? Hadn’t her father wanted her to go to Vanderbilt so she could come home at night? Her father allowed her to attend the Knoxville school as long as she didn’t let her grades drop below a B+. If they did she’d have to come home. Only twice did her grades drop: once because her brother had been in a car accident and she’d rushed home, missing a test, and when her grandmother passed away just before finals. By that time Tessa’s father had become a Tennessee Volunteer fan and never hinted she needed to return to Franklin. To think she was so close to home and couldn’t go visit her parents added another layer of guilt and regret.
Tessa watched the lips of the three men moving. They had her earpiece turned off. Why? And why did they need her to come along on this clandestine folly? It wasn’t like she had any special black ops training. Oak Ridge National Laboratory was synonymous with brilliant men and women. The mere thought of the periodic table gave Tessa a headache. Afraid of heights, rodents, earthquakes and unwashed hands before dinner padded her profile as the most unlikely of heroes. Yet here she was, strapped in a Black Hawk helicopter, surrounded by shadowy men carrying guns that looked like something from a science fiction movie.
A fleeting thought concerning her new ability on how to trick a Middle Eastern terrorist entered her already confused state. Wouldn’t having her house shot up and being forced into a secretive government agency in the middle of Sacramento be included on her updated resume? Inwardly she smiled at the thought. The other soccer moms were going to love this story.
Tessa caught her breath when she realized the captain was staring at her through his aviator sunglasses. Her earpiece came to life. “The reason you’re coming along…” Tessa squirmed. Could he read minds too? “You once worked for a Dr. Carl Haskin when you attended U.T., am I correct?”
Tessa tried not to look surprised that the captain knew that information. After all, Enigma appeared to have made her life an open book for these nondescript men who had imprisoned her. With a quick nod, Tessa squeezed her eyes shut feeling the helicopter descend suddenly. Her hand went to her stomach before opening her eyes. The captain still remained focused on her.
“Alright?” Again she nodded. “Other than being a nanny for his children, how did you assist Dr. Haskin?”
“Is that why you dragged me here?” she sounded a little more contentious than intended. Swallowing hard, Tessa licked her dry lips. She thought she was going to be sick. “Yes, I was a nanny for his children. When I needed a graduate assistant position to continue with my masters, Dr. Haskin recommended me.”
“But your masters was in cultural and environmental geography, why were you working with Dr. Haskin at Oak Ridge?
“He needed an assistant.” Tessa realized her involvement now had a deeper meaning. “Dr. Haskin had me grade papers, assist with experiments he deemed too sensitive for the general population of students and faculty. He trusted me, mostly because I didn’t know what the heck he was talking about most of the time. There was never any hidden agenda with us. He and his wife even took me with them on vacation. Mrs. Haskin was a doctor of internal medicine. I made their life a little easier. I wanted a free education and I got one. My assistant job paid $1500 a month and my tuition was free.”
Wiping the perspiration from her forehead, Tessa watched the ground swim up to meet them. When the door slid back, Tessa didn’t wait for assistance in unbuckling her restraints. The rotor blades whipped her hair into her eyes as a hand pushed her head down and forced her forward.
Two men in military type uniforms waited in the shadows of the main building. They motioned for the three to join them. They carried the carbine Black Diamond Specter XLs. Tessa thought the weapons alone looked menacing enough to get the situation under control. Bullet proof vests lay on the ground behind them and were immediately snatched up. She watched how quickly the captain and Zoric slipped into them. Abruptly Tessa found herself under the capable hands of Captain Hunter as he fastened her into the third vest.
Chase secured the vest and let his hands linger a little longer than intended on Tessa’s arms. “You’ll be alright, Mrs. Scott. However,” he stared into her eyes, which she imagined were the size of saucers. “I need your promise you’ll follow my orders.” The pilot joined them carrying gas masks. The captain handed her one as the others took theirs. “We have reason to believe there’s been a breach here. A mayday call went out at 0600. Said they were under attack. Enigma has secured the perimeter, but…”
Tessa turned nervous eyes to her surroundings and began to spot other heavily armed men in shadowy corners. “But what?” she whispered in trepidation.
The captain pulled down her gas mask before answering. “Our video feed has people face down in some of the corridors. Gas sensors a
re on the inside. We won’t know the threat until we enter.”
~ ~ ~
Zoric handed Chase some kind of electronic device that he checked quickly. When lights began to blink he turned his attention back to Tessa. He didn’t like a civilian getting involved in this. He could see that Tessa had begun to hyperventilate. Pulling up her mask so she could take a gulp of air, Chase couldn’t stop himself from reaching out to move an unruly curl that had fallen onto her forehead. Suddenly, Chase realized Tessa was watching his forefinger trail down her cheek with narrowed, angry eyes.
Slapping at his hand, she squared her narrow shoulders. “I’m asking you for the last time, why am I here? Either tell me or I’m going to start screaming bloody murder.”
Chase straightened to his full height and frowned. He took out his phone, punched in a code and turned it for Tessa to see. “Dr. Haskins made the distressed call. He said there were men in gas masks.” His look grew hard. “His instructions were to wire 100 million dollars to his off shore account by 1100 hours or the scientists he’d secured in a safe vault would die.” Chase played the recording as he glanced at his watch. Time was running out. He watched Tessa’s expression turn from resolve to uncertainty.
“Dr. Haskins would never do that.” Tessa protested and pushed Chase’s hand away as he tried to pull down her mask. “He’s a kind and a decent man. I once saw him rescue a cockroach from his garage and take it to the woods so his wife wouldn’t stomp on it.”
“That was then.”
Just as Tessa reached up to touch her mask she poked a finger in the captain’s hard chest. “Tell me what you want.”
Zoric met Chase’s eyes and grinned. The captain never took a civilian’s obstinate manners very long. His team followed orders blindly and without question. Even Benjamin Clark, head of Enigma, rarely second-guessed his methods. The captain, for all his education and experience, found it difficult to communicate with civilians in this line of work.
“You’re our eyes. The last schematics we have of this place,” Zoric tried to nudge Chase aside to defuse his rising temper, “is fourteen years ago.” Tessa’s brow creased at the preposterous notion that Home Land Security hadn’t reviewed this information after 9/11. “We’ve heard of a super vault. Do you know anything about that?”
“Yes. Dr. Haskins and another scientist, I never met designed it. The vault could be used to store sensitive experiments, research and even people during a state of emergency.” Tessa shrugged. “I thought it was for tornadoes or something. Then one day,” Tessa’s eyes grew large, “he said it was only a matter of time before someone started a war. Dr. Haskins said everything you’d need to live for six months would be there.”
“Have you seen the vault?”
“Yes. He made me sign a document to never reveal its location because of its importance to national security. Dr. Haskins said there were only ten people who knew about the vault and only three who knew of its location. I was one of those.”
“Why you?” Chase smelled a May December romance. He could just imagine what a looker Tessa Scott had been in college. Take away the ten extra pounds from childbirth; add a healthy tan, a free spirit and you have all the makings of a goddess in the eyes of a nerdy scientist who has his head stuck under a microscope all day.
“He trusted me because we went to church together. I was his kids’ Sunday School teacher.”
“Perfect,” Chase moaned as his eyes cut to Zoric who bore the faint smirk of a man who had been thinking the same scenario. “Well it appears your Dr. Haskins has made a deal with the devil himself. If he has allowed terrorists into Oak Ridge and murdered our scientists and done God knows what else, I’ll personally make sure he burns in Hell!”
~ ~ ~
Tessa surrendered with a nod as she pulled down her gas mask. It certainly didn’t look good for her friend. As plastic explosives were applied to the steel enforced door, she began to doubt her devotion to a man she’d known in college. A Christmas card with the family newsletter she received each year didn’t mean all was well. The children she so lovingly cared for were grown now, attending college at Stanford. What would make such a decent man go so horribly astray? She felt Zoric and the captain push her against the concrete wall as a blast opened the door to the unknown.
“Stay close, Mrs. Scott,” Chase warned as he motioned for his men to enter the building. “I don’t want any more civilians getting hurt. Follow my orders.” She nodded that she understood and watched him pull down his mask.
Tessa bent low behind the captain as he entered the building with Zoric at his side, both carrying P-90 automatic weapons. Nothing could have prepared her for what lie ahead.
“We’re under fire! Where the hell are you, Carter!” Sam demanded as she forcibly escorted three scientists down a smoke filled corridor. Moments before she’d set off a smoke bomb to cover their escape. Two men had appeared carrying pistols and began shooting wildly as Sam pushed her charges into a safe room and returned fire. She’d hit one of them in the chest but the remaining terrorists had yelled for help. When she heard the gunman coughing, Sam ordered the frightened scientists out into the hall. “Take a deep breath, and then run down the hall as fast as you can!”
“But what if there are more of them at the other end?” the short man in glasses said as he practiced gulping air.
“If we don’t get out of here, there won’t be an ‘other end’. Now move!” When they timidly stepped out into the corridor, Sam pushed them down low so as not to inhale too much smoke. They froze until her automatic weapon began blasting the silence.
Sam later confessed she didn’t know the pudgy guy with glasses would be able to run so fast. He easily sprinted pass the younger, more athletic woman as return gunfire began to echo down the once tranquil halls of Los Alamos National Laboratory. The woman screamed as indiscriminate bullets bounced off the walls.
“Go! Go! Go!” Sam yelled as she stopped to reload behind some kind of computer tower blocking the hall.
“Sam! They’re safe! Now get the hell out of there,” Carter said not far from her. “I’ll cover you.”
“Here they come!”
Carter stepped out into the smoky fog and began firing his Glock as Sam backed up also firing before turning and running. Together Sam and Carter took cover and waited for the terrorists to approach. Visibility started to improve enough for the terrorists to slip from their protection. “Aim for their arms, Sam. We need to interrogate them. Are we clear?” he said whispering into her ear.
Sam kept her eyes on the target. “You get that close to me again and I’ll shoot you some place other than your arm.” Sam turned her face to Carter who smiled with desire. “Are we clear?”
“Perfectly.” Carter was but a breath from Sam’s enticing mouth. “Shall we?”
Sam nodded as they both stood and charged down the hall, yelling at the top of their lungs. The two terrorists were so stunned they didn’t get a round off before the Enigma duo slammed their weapons upside their faces, bringing them down to the floor with a loud grunt. The sound of their weapons hitting the floor drew a sigh of relief from Carter.
Sam’s man tried to get up until she kicked him so hard in the side that he curled up into a quivering ball. Slowly, Sam squatted down next to the man and rammed her gun into his ear. In flawless Arabic, Sam growled, “I love my job you piece of crap. Give me a reason to unload this gun into your head.”
Carter jerked the second man to his feet. When he tried to squirm free, Carter landed his pistol on his nose. Blood splattered on the both of them. “We have a few questions for you,” Carter said calmly looking down at his uniform. He looked at Sam. “I just had this cleaned.”
Sam stood. “So? Do you have a date or something?”
“Chicks dig this kind of thing. Now look at me!”
The man spit on Carter’s boots. “I tell you nothing!”
Carter sighed and looked at Sam. Without hesitation she shot her man in the thigh. A scream pierced t
he hall which got him another kick in the side.
“I told you in the arm!” Carter frowned. A satanic smile spread across Sam’s face as she began to reload her pistol and eye Carter’s captive. “Now,” his eyes turned back to the captive with the bleeding nose. “We were saying? Oh! We have a few questions we’d like to ask you if you have time.” Carter had transformed into his charming self.
“That woman is crazy!” the terrorist shivered as he dragged a sleeve across his bleeding nose.
“Yes. She’s also really hot,” Carter said smiling over at the angry Sam who had begun gritting her teeth. Never a good sign. “So, buddy,” Carter said slipping an arm around the terrorist’s shoulder. “Either you can talk to me,” he said before lifting a finger toward Sam, “or to her. She also really hates all that Taliban-control-the-women stuff. Unfortunately she doesn’t quite get the whole end objective of interrogation,” he laughed. “Am I right, Sam?”
Sam pulled the trigger and shot her captive in the arm. Another scream.
“Sam!” Carter shouted.
“You said shoot him in the arm!” Her wide, dangerous eyes went to Carter’s man then smiled sweetly with a sadistically show of gritted teeth. “Just following orders.”
Carter nodded. “I did tell you to do that didn’t I?” He shrugged nonchalantly.
“I’ll tell you anything! Just keep her away from me!”
“Can I kill this one?” Sam asked coldly as she looked down at the unconscious man on the floor.
Carter slapped the quivering captive on the back. “Well, let’s see how this one does. We may need that one if…What’s your name?’
“Tim.”
Carter laughed. “Of course, it is. If Tim doesn’t work out we may need to ask yours a few questions.”
“Better hurry,” Sam said holstering her weapon. “Looks like this one may bleed out.”
The Enigma Series Boxed Set Page 12
