by Dale Mayer
Chapter 11
Ice watched the two men walk away. She was torn. She should stay and help Bullard, but she really wanted to be with Levi. They had so much shit to sort out, and yet, at the same time, she figured there was almost nothing to discuss now. So much time had gone by, and neither one of them even understood anymore what had gone wrong. Given what they’d all been through, she wasn’t sure it mattered either.
“Go.” Bullard waved her off in the direction the two men had gone. “At least if you go, you can keep an eye on Harrison. If he looks like he’s flagging, get his ass back here to bed.”
Ice grinned. “I can do that.” She walked to the sink and washed up. When done, she looked back at Bullard as he rebandaged Logan. “You’ll stay here with him?”
Bullard nodded. “I’ll go grab my laptop and sit here with him for a while. I don’t think he’ll wake up again but …” He shrugged. “Who knows?”
She liked that about Bullard. When he was in doctor mode, the patients came first.
“I’ll check back in an hour or so,” she promised.
“Better bring coffee with you then.” He disappeared out one way to retrieve his laptop, and she followed the path Levi had taken.
Catching up to them, she didn’t even know what to call this room. It was technically a garage though fully wired. It did have huge double bay doors, and connected to the other rooms, but, being full of electronic workstations, it seemed to deserve a better label than “garage.”
Harrison sat, his fingers busy on the laptop keyboard. She personally knew very little about bombs and bomb-making equipment, but she knew that, in this line of work, she should become better informed about it. One more thing on her list.
She studied Harrison’s color, noting the pallor, but also the glint in his eyes. The excitement and the ability to dig in to find something had caught hold. He’d be fine for a little while longer. She looked at Levi, busy sorting through the equipment they had brought back. In fact the room was almost full of electronics. Dave was here with several of his men. Bullard had only the best working for him. Not knowing quite where to go or what to do, she looked around the room at large and asked. “Did you find anything?”
Levi nodded and pointed at Harrison. “He did.”
She walked closer to Harrison and studied the laptop. It was all gibberish to her. “What did you find?”
“The laptop is one of several in a network. So I’m backtracking. Of course it’s bouncing me all over the place now, but I’m pretty damn sure it’s not very far away.”
“What’s not very far away?”
“The system which the laptop is connected to,” he said enthusiastically as if that explained it. For her it meant jack shit.
“But then doesn’t that mean that it’s connected to the van? And that it’s somewhere close to us?”
Levi shot her a hard glance. “Maybe, but not necessarily. Have you talked to Stone?”
She shook her head. “No. I’ve just come from the sick bay. I haven’t gotten to Stone yet.”
“I’ll go,” he said. “You keep an eye on Harrison.”
“I’m fine,” Harrison protested.
“Good,” she said, snagging a stool and dragging it closer. “Then you won’t mind if I watch and learn.”
“That’s no problem. You need to learn some of this stuff anyway.”
And there followed one of the hardest lessons she’d ever had to listen to. Something about viruses and Trojans and DNS and jumping off points in code that she had never heard before.
She shook her head after he finally wound down. “Do you actually expect me to remember any of that?” she exclaimed in horror.
He laughed. “The more times I say it, the more familiar you’ll become with it all. And believe me, I kept it simple this time.”
“Nope.” She shook her head again. “How about I just watch instead?”
But this time he slowly explained how he did a trace and was tracking the signal back.
“See? They should’ve hid their signal, but they hadn’t disconnected this laptop from the network. So I can trace it back and set up a signal for when it goes live again.” Suddenly he leaned forward and cursed. “Goddammit.”
“What? What just happened?” She studied the screen, but instead of all the interesting split screens he had up, it was now black. “Where did it all go?”
“The assholes just figured out I was on their tail.” He clicked through several screens. “They won’t beat me that easily.”
She watched as he swore and typed away like a madman. But it was well above her head.
Levi’s voice came through the PA system. “Ice, can you come up here to the control room, please?”
“On my way.”
She hopped off the bench, studied Harrison once again to see an angry red flush instead of the previous pallor. He was more pissed about what was happening on his laptop than struggling with failing energy. She figured he’d be fine for at least a few minutes. She headed to the control room. It would take at least ten minutes to get to the opposite side of the building. By the time she got there, Stone was acting like Harrison. He was pounding on his keyboard and swearing. She raised her eyebrows and turned to Levi.
“Stone looks like Harrison right now.” She added, “Something happened. They figured out he was tracking them, and now he’s pissed, trying to work around them.”
Levi nodded. “Stone came up against a similar kind of issue on our own system. We need to make sure we’re not under attack ourselves. All of our screens have gone black.”
Startled, she studied all the monitors, but they were blind; no way to see what was going on outside the building. And that was so not good. “Shit.”
“We need to go outside and do a security check,” Levi said.
She turned back to the door. “Do you think we might need to hire a few more men? We got Bullard and his men right now, but, when they leave, we’ll be very short on staff.”
“I know,” Levi said in clipped tones as she passed through the doorway, “But we never thought one of the first major hurdles would be an occurrence on our home base.”
She followed him down to the armory and grabbed her gear. He insisted she put on a bulletproof vest, letting her know exactly how serious he figured things would get out there. Great. When she left the military, she figured she was done with war forever. She thought she’d known exactly what being part of this company entailed, but she hadn’t really.
Three of Bullard’s men came with them. They all headed in opposite directions to check on the cameras and scout the region. If they were coming under attack, they needed to be prepared. The rest of the men were inside on alert. “Did somebody tell Bullard?”
“Alfred is handling that. He’s making sure everybody inside is prepped and ready, and Stone is testing the security systems.”
“Which way are we taking?” she asked quietly.
“The secret entrance leading up the hill.”
“We really need to have better names for these places,” she said, heading for the door that would send them toward their destination.
“Lead the way,” Levi said. “And you can tell us if anything’s been disturbed since you came in.”
She nodded. “Will do.” They’d already tested the soundproofing in this tunnel. And with small running lights at the bottom edge of the floor, they could move easily. She raced with two sidearms on her hips and her favorite assault rifle in her hands. Once again Ice shook her head at the crazy world she’d been thrown into. She didn’t realize she’d said anything out loud until Levi quietly said from behind her, “Do you regret it?”
Without breaking stride, she tossed him a backward glance. “Maybe.” She nodded, then couldn’t resist adding, even though this was hardly the time or the place, “Depends on if we ever resolve our differences. If this is just me wasting my time here, then I’m not sticking around. However, if this is us building the future, then that’s a different story.”
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She didn’t wait to hear his answer but quickly unlocked the tunnel entrance and held up her hand to stop Bullard’s men behind them. She slipped outside into the moonlight. The sun would be up soon. They were caught in the time warp between night and morning, not quite dawn but the sky was light enough to see. She didn’t move for a minute to allow her eyesight to adjust.
Turning her head, she studied the entrance. She reached up and pushed the button on her comm and said, “All clear.”
*
Levi had no chance to answer. Her words were like a blow to his heart. Sure they had some problems, but she’d followed him. That had been a statement in itself. But he’d been lax on not picking up the slack. And she was right; after weeks he’d done nothing.
Mostly he did whatever he needed to, usually in response to threats. The hell if he knew about handling this shit. To him it was simple. She’d left the military and followed him here. They were partners. That meant she cared. But it seemed like it was more than that for her. And that’s exactly what he wanted.
He also knew that, for him, it could never be over because she was the one, regardless whether she came or left. But to hear her actually say the words was like a spear in his heart. And, of course, like the trip to Mexico … shitty timing.
Using hand signals, he had the men spread out and move swiftly across the ground. They made a full sweep of the area. All their cameras were still intact but not functioning, which was what he expected. There was a good chance the men were tracked back here. With all the tradesmen, cement and army trucks needed to outfit the compound, it wasn’t like Levi had been able to hide that they’d moved in. Not to mention having a helicopter. Satellites had picked him up for sure, he knew that, but, whether the locals gave a damn, he didn’t know. They’d been as friendly as they could be. Until Rodriguez had shown up. And that was a whole different ball game.
If Rodriguez knew Levi was here, the chances were the compound was about to come under major attack. With everybody stationed on the hillside, checking the roads below from this position, they could see for miles. He had his sensor out, looking for vehicles. And one was beeping. Through his comm device he told Stone, “We have an incoming vehicle picked up by one of our trackers.”
“That’s theirs. Rhodes put a tracker on it before he went in. I’ve been watching it approach.”
Levi grinned. “Any chance the men got one on the van before it took off?”
“They fired and embedded one in the vehicle, but we can’t get it to work. Presumably it was damaged when it went in.”
Levi frowned. Those damn things were terrible for that. Too easily damaged. They’d have to devise one of their own. They had the same problem in the military. They really needed a tracker they could shoot from a distance, land softly, and lock on to whatever it was they were firing upon. He sent word to the men outside, alerting them to the oncoming vehicle, about two minutes out.
At the sound of someone approaching, he turned to see Ice. She dropped down beside him, looking at the road below, then turned to gaze directly in his eyes. He contemplated the look in hers or what it meant until she turned and said, “Incoming.”
The vehicle stopped at the side of the road, and four men got out.
Using his night scope, he could see the men were armed and wore dark camouflage. “Heads up. Four unfriendlies on the way.”
The three men with Levi acknowledged.
“Hold your positions until we see where they go.”
The moon was bright overhead, giving them lots of light to work with. He lined up a scope and watched as the intruders split up. They were taking the same hill from the same side but from different positions. It looked like two of them would come up under Ice.
Beside him, she stretched out and lined up for the shot. “Did you pick out a place for the mass grave yet?” she asked, going for a touch of humor.
He stifled a laugh. That was his girl. The trouble was, the answer to that question was no. Not yet. He hadn’t expected this. She looked over at him, and the laughter in her eyes made him realize just how special she truly was. Any other time he’d have leaned forward and kissed her. Wasn’t that always the problem? Lousy timing. Never having a chance to do what he really wanted to do.
Instantly he heard one of the men on the comm say, “That better not be what I thought I just heard.”
Ice pulled away, her giggles completely overheard, leaving Levi to deal with the fallout. Mumbling an excuse, he turned his attention to the incoming men, but inside he was smiling. This was a good thing and it gave him hope. With a low whisper he said, “Fifty yards and counting.”
“I’ve got one coming up in front of me,” said Sean, another of Bullard’s men.
The other two on Bullard’s team, Jason and Andrew, checked in. Apparently the fourth intruder was coming up between them. Good, all four were covered. What Levi really needed was that vehicle down there.
Apparently Ice had the same idea. They were the closest to it and needed to take out the men, then go snag it, and bring it into the compound where they could dismantle it.
She whispered against his ear, “If we can take out all four men at once, I’ll go down. But I’m afraid somebody in that vehicle will drive off at any sign of problems here. Can you take these two while I retrieve the vehicle?”
He reached out and held her down. “No, they’ll see you. That’d give us away.”
She frowned. “I’d be silent.”
He squeezed her shoulder again, and she fell quiet. The first man crested the hill and stopped, surveying the terrain. He was only about ten yards away from them when he glanced over the top. Good. The second man arrived beside him. They both headed toward the other side and would reach the compound in no time.
Moving as quietly as they could, Levi and Ice came up behind them both. Levi jumped his man. Ice didn’t bother; she hit hers hard in the back of the neck, and he went down. Instantly they dropped to the ground in the still air around them. No birds flew; no animals cried. They just had two unconscious men on the ground.
They needed the other two taken out just as quietly so they could circle back around after the vehicle.
Levi’s communication squawked gently in his ear. “Number three down.”
He looked to the west.
He realized just how well-placed this compound really was. They had the high ground, and, if anybody tried to come up from the side, they still had to come down in full view where anybody in the compound could keep track of them, yet were cut off from their own party on the other side.
“And that was textbook perfect,” came in over his earpiece.
With all four intruders accounted for, Levi ordered his men to circle around behind the vehicle. “Beware, there could be a fifth or six man inside.”
“Got that.”
He turned to look at Ice. “Can you stand watch on the fourth man down? Give me a commentary of what’s going on? Jason and Andrew will secure the vehicle.”
Soundlessly she got to her feet. Running low to the ground, she crept to the downed man. She spoke into her comm. “I can see the men coming around the vehicle. Still appears to be deserted. There are no lights. The engine is off.”
He could see as she dropped out of sight. And then he waited. Were there only four men or had there been more?
The answer came sooner than he thought. Gunfire ripped through the night. Flashes of fire and the sounds of shooting rolled across the hills.
Goddammit. He didn’t dare change position. Tense, he waited for one of the men to check in, and then he heard his comm cackle.
“The vehicle is secured. One unfriendly inside. Unfortunately, not possible to take the vehicle and keep him alive.”
Right. Ice had not been joking about a mass grave.
Still it was good news. The vehicle was theirs. As he watched, the engine started, and the vehicle trundled closer.
Now to get these scumbags down the hillside … Levi had a few questions he wanted to
ask them.
Reaching down, he threw the first man over his shoulder, squatted and dragged the second one under his arm and then flipped him over his other shoulder as well. Thankfully they weren’t huge. If they’d been Stone’s size, no way Levi would have been able to pack these two. But these guys weren’t much bigger than Ice.
He should know. He spent a lot of time unwrapping that package. And that just reminded him. Enough was enough. She was right; they needed to sort out their shit.
Because he was damn tired of sleeping alone.
Chapter 12
Back inside, Ice headed first to Logan’s side. She wanted to make sure he was still doing okay. At the desk Bullard had his feet up, laptop in his lap, pounding away on the keyboard. “Is he okay?” she said softly.
Bullard glanced up and smiled. “He’s fine, sleeping decently now. By morning he should be a lot better.”
“Good.”
“I hear you had a successful hunt?”
She grinned. “Yeah, you could say that. Four captured, one dead. The vehicle is now in the garage. We should find out a ton from that.”
Bullard jumped to his feet. “Oh, now that’s great news. Can I come play too?”
She laughed. “As far as I’m concerned, you can. Check in with Levi though.”
He closed his laptop and, before heading for the garage, said, “Where are you going now?”
“Honestly the kitchen.”
“And here I thought you’d be off to bed.” He gave her a wicked grin and disappeared in the direction of Levi and his men.
In fact that was exactly where she should be going. Still it felt wrong to go to bed while nobody else did. She was part of the team, and one didn’t stop until the team did.
Alfred was in the kitchen, making yet another pot of coffee. Seemed as if that was all they drank around this place.
“Alfred, how are you doing?”
“I’m perfectly good.” He turned to study her face. Then smiled. “And apparently you are too.”
