Truth or Dare

by Fern Michaels

  “You still have the Ducati?” Allison asked in surprise.

  Harry was shocked at the question. “You remembered the Ducati.”

  “Harry, I remember every single minute I spent here at the dojo. I remember all the aches, the pains, the brutality. I remember crying myself to sleep at night because I hurt so bad. I remember the humiliation on the bad days. The guys who talked behind my back, the names they called me. I remember that even though I never said anything to you, you were going to interfere, but I told you no. But what I really remember is the day of the final trials, when you bowed to me. You bowed to me. To me that meant I was your equal. That was all I needed to go forward. I felt like you had handed me the Holy Grail. I saw my picture on your wall. You didn’t just talk the talk, you walked the walk. I will be forever grateful. Your training saved my life on four separate occasions. To me, that meant I would live to see my kids again. ‘Thank you’ hardly seems enough.”

  “It’s enough,” Harry said gruffly. He had a hard time accepting praise.

  “You can sleep in Lily’s room. It’s late. Morning will be here before you know it.”

  “If it’s all the same to you, Harry, I’ll just sit here and wait for morning. You go ahead. You need your sleep.”

  “We could talk. Tell me about your fifteen years out in the field. I’m a good listener, and whatever you tell me stays with me.”

  Allison laughed. “You sure you want to hear all that?”

  Harry didn’t laugh. “Yes, Tea, I want to hear. And I think you need to get it all out, knowing that whatever you say will stay with me.”

  “Fine, but first I want to hear about your family. Your wife and daughter. Then we’ll get to my stuff. Deal?”

  “Deal.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  The early morning cable news was jubilant that the Internet was back up and running. The cell-phone towers were also working, they chortled. Now all the talking heads wanted was someone’s head on a platter for causing what one morning anchor referred to as almost the end of the communication world.

  The digital clock on the range was one minute away from five o’clock, and Charles and Fergus had already cooked mountains of scrambled eggs and pounds of bacon and sausage for the team.

  “So where do we stand?” Abner said, rubbing his red-rimmed eyes.

  Avery Snowden looked around the table. “The CIA’s files we spent the night going through simply verified pretty much what we already knew. The U.S. file confirmed that the Bannons, their team, were on loan to Homeland Security. We had already assumed that. Team Bannon has been working domestically on the Karas brothers for the past three years for Homeland Security. Off and on. Then, when the brothers packed up and left the U.S. and traveled to wherever they were going, usually abroad, they followed and went back to working for the CIA.”

  “Do we still think . . . believe that the brothers are untouchable?” Jack asked.

  “Pretty much,” Snowden said sourly. “I just got a report from a reliable source that there are eight SUVs parked at the Sofitel hotel in D.C. There are forty-eight people, security, protecting the brothers. Same deal they had at the Ritz-Carlton in Atlanta. They’ve taken over three entire floors.”

  “I’m not getting this,” Ted said. The others agreed. They all looked at Snowden for the answer.

  Avery Snowden shrugged. “The only thing I can think of is what Maggie did with the front page of the Post. The brothers want to be available. I’m thinking they’re thinking they will be on the list. Arriving now is opportune for them. It will be easy for an invitation to be delivered.” He flapped his hands to show he was just guessing. “Only a fool returns to the scene of the crime. The brothers are not fools. Someone is jerking their strings.”

  “How do we get them?” Dennis asked.

  “Good question, kid. We need a plan,” Jack said. “Where the hell is Harry?”

  “He’s on his way, along with Allison Bannon,” Charles said.

  “Forty-eight people is a small army. We’re no match for that,” Espinosa grumbled.

  “Plus what we read in the files, their security is top notch. Retired from their professions. When I say ‘retired,’ I am not using the term the way Americans think of retirement. These are men who have been kicked out of the agencies they worked for for a variety of reasons. They’re mercenaries, soldiers of fortune. Well-paid mercenaries. In other words, they aren’t going to kick ass and take names. They’re going to shoot to kill. We’re no match for that kind of security,” Abner said as he got up to carry his plate to the sink.

  “Whoa! How can you say we’re no match for them?” Jack exclaimed. Cyrus reared up and sprinted over to where Abner was standing. He barked twice. Translation: Yeah, how can you say that? Did you forget about me?

  Abner reached down to stroke the sweet spot between Cyrus’s eyes. He whirled around and barked back. “You’re saying you and Harry, just the two of you, can take on forty-eight mercenaries!”

  “Well, when you put it like that, no, we obviously can’t do that. We’ll need some help. Anyway, make that three because Allison Bannon will be on our side. With Cyrus, that adds up to four.”

  “A diversion of some kind at the hotel. Then we do a snatch and grab,” Maggie said, just as Lady and her pups ran to the door.

  “Harry’s here!” Espinosa said. He turned on the outside light, which bathed the entire courtyard in blinding white light. The sun had yet to creep toward the horizon. He opened the door.

  Harry made the introductions. All eyes were on Allison Bannon. She looked like a pixie minus the costume.

  Charles held up his hands. “Maggie, take Mrs. Bannon to her children. She’s waited long enough to see them.” Allison bit down on her lip as her eyes filled with tears. She said nothing, she just waited as Maggie reached for her arm.

  “They’re still asleep. They usually sleep till around nine, but I’m sure they won’t mind waking up early.”

  “No, no, I won’t wake them. I just need to see them. Seeing them is all I need right now.”

  Maggie nodded as she opened the door to Barbara’s old room, where the three children slept together in the big bed. “They wanted to sleep together,” Maggie whispered.

  “Andy likes to cuddle. Carrie is like a little mother to Emily and Andy,” Allison whispered in return as she let her eyes drink in the sight of her children in the dim light provided by the two night-lights. “You have no idea how much I love those kids,” she continued to whisper as she backed out of the room.

  Cooper’s tail thumped on the carpet. Allison reared back. “What was that sound?”

  “That’s Cooper,” Maggie whispered, as the dog’s tail thumped twice. “He’s protecting your children. He’s lying beside the bed. Cooper is . . . it’s complicated, Allison.”

  “I know. Harry said almost exactly the same thing. Maybe someday you’ll explain Cooper to me. Or not.”

  Allison backed out of the doorway before she closed the door quietly behind her.

  Maggie smiled. “Oh, I think I have a pretty good idea how much you love your children. Cooper is for another day.”

  Allison tugged at Maggie’s arm. “I heard something in your tone that leads me to believe you care for my children. I saw the way you looked at them while they slept. I . . . during these past fifteen years, I’ve had to make split-second decisions with no thought to what would happen if I made the wrong one. I trust my gut, my intuition, and I run with it. It’s saved my life and my team’s lives more times than I want to remember. Having said that, I want to ask you something. But first I want to tell you something.”

  “Fire away,” Maggie said uneasily as she wondered what was coming next.

  Allison leaned against the staircase railing that overlooked the first-floor foyer and stared at Maggie in the subdued lighting of the long, narrow hallway. “I made provisions for my children. Me. Not me and my husband. Me. I contacted Lizzie Fox, and she took care of everything for me. I’ve provided for
all three of them well into their adulthood. Lizzie is the trustee of the trust that I had set up. I would like you to be part of that. Because . . . because if I don’t . . . if I don’t make it, I want to know I left my kids in good hands. I don’t want my husband anywhere near those kids. If there is a God, and if justice prevails, Steven will go to prison for the traitor he is.

  “Will you agree, Maggie? I know it’s a lot to ask, and we just met. Will you at least consider it?”

  Maggie didn’t stop to think, to consider or weigh her response. She simply said, “Yes.” Then she hugged the secret agent and led the way back down to the kitchen, using the back staircase. “There’s nothing stronger than a mother’s love. I’ve read that, but I’ve also heard it voiced hundreds of times over the years. Sadly, I am not a mother. I do have a cat, though, that I love.” She did take a second to wonder where a government agent could come up with enough money to hire high-dollar attorney Lizzie Fox and provide for her children into adulthood.

  “Works for me,” Allison said with a wan smile.

  Back in the kitchen, where everyone was gathered, Charles asked if he could make Allison some breakfast. She shook her head. “We need to talk.”

  “Yes, we do,” Charles said. He looked around at the messy kitchen and shrugged. “This can wait. Follow us, young lady.”

  If Allison Bannon was surprised at the secret bookcase and the stone steps that led down to the war room, she gave no sign. Nor did she show any emotion when she watched the team salute Lady Justice on the big screen. She sat down and waited.

  “I’m sure Harry has explained everything, am I right?”

  “Not everything,” Harry said carefully.

  A wry grin stretched across Allison’s face. “He left off the part about all of you being the male team of the infamous vigilantes. Am I right?”

  The collective gasp that echoed in the room brought a full smile to her face. “I’m a superagent, remember. I recognize this place. Not where we are now but the outside. I worked under the FBI on loan back in the day when the whole world was trying to catch the vigilantes. Even though I was tasked to find them, I was rooting for them to get away. In my heart of hearts. I remember Jack Emery and the reporters. We had them cornered and were getting ready to make our move when the president issued the order to stand down. I didn’t know then, but I know now that Lizzie Fox was instrumental in the stand-down. And then they all disappeared. Literally into thin air. The CIA snatched us back from the FBI and sent us to Spain, where it was rumored the vigilantes were holed up on a mountain. Lucky for them, another world crisis that took precedence came up, and again we were told to stand down. I have to say I was relieved. My heart was not in that mission.”

  The team gaped at Allison, but no one said a word because they were speechless at how close the sisters had been to capture, and they’d had no clue.

  “Well, then, let’s get down to business,” Charles said as he tried to cover up the shock of what he’d just heard from Allison Bannon.

  Allison looked over at Avery Snowden and said, “I know of you. You’re good.”

  Surprised, Snowden nodded at her compliment.

  Charles cleared his throat. “I think it would help all of us if you go first, Agent Bannon.”

  “I’m not an agent anymore. I’ve gone rogue. Allison will be fine.”

  The team sat transfixed as Allison recited the details of her entire career from the day she was recruited when she finished college to the present, sitting here at the table. Allison looked around at everyone at the table and said, almost playfully, “Your turn. Oh, wait, there is one more thing I need to tell you.” She quickly explained about the money she’d found. “Lizzie is in charge of that.” She almost laughed at the expressions on the team’s faces.

  Charles took to the floor, explained his background and Fergus’s as well. “Mr. Snowden is . . . is a colleague we call on from time to time.” He squared his shoulders and started talking. As hard as she tried, Allison found it difficult to conceal her shock at what the people seated at the table did. Lizzie Fox was right. These were the people she needed, people Lizzie said could be trusted. People like her. She would never be able to repay them for keeping her children safe, but by God, she would die trying. She continued to listen, nodding from time to time until Charles finished.

  “I’m in,” Allison said.

  “Now we need a plan,” Jack said.

  Harry shocked everyone speechless when he said, “I think I might be able to come up with one.”

  “What? What? You waiting for a bus, Harry? If you have a plan, share it with us. Like now would be good,” Jack growled.

  “If I heard all this right, we’re three plus one killer dog going up against forty-eight mercenaries. The odds of surviving that, much less accomplishing anything valuable, are not favorable.” Cyrus bolted upright to stand next to Jack. He loved the term killer dog even though he’d never killed anything. Not even squirrels, which he was allowed to chase but not kill. He listened intently to Harry.

  “My suggestion is I call the Triad.”

  Questions flew around the room at the speed of light. “You serious, Harry?” Jack asked, awe in his voice.

  “As a heart attack.”

  “Then you need to share who the Triad is with the people in this room who might think the term has musical implications.”

  “The Triad consists of three of my best friends, Ky, Ling, and Momo. They are usually referred to as the Deadly Triad. Ky is in Taiwan; Ling, I believe, is in Hong Kong; and right now I have no idea where Momo is. They might—I say might—be willing to come here to help us. That would even the odds quite a bit in our favor. Six plus one killer dog.”

  “How do you figure six plus one killer dog tilts the odds in your favor?” Dennis asked, a worried look on his face.

  “Because I said so,” Harry said.

  And that was the end of that.

  “If I have a vote in this, I agree with Harry. I’ve been, as they say in the business, within spitting distance of those guys. They are their own army, and there is a price on their heads. I guess the question is, how persuasive can you be, Harry? And can we pull it off?” Allison asked.

  “The only way we’ll know the answer is if I call them. Is everyone in agreement?” Harry looked around the room, waiting for opposition. He wasn’t surprised to hear it from Charles, but he was equally stunned at Allison’s reaction.

  “Don’t we need to know more about . . . your friends before we agree?” Charles asked.

  “No!” The single word shot out of Allison Bannon’s mouth like a gunshot.

  “Just do it, Harry!” Jack said. Cyrus barked his approval.

  Harry shrugged when the room turned silent. He fished around in the many pockets of his cargo pants until he found a funny-looking phone that he used for his business. It took him a minute to locate the number he wanted. All eyes were on him as they watched Harry dial a series of numbers after which he looked up at the different clocks on the wall that told the time all over the world. “There’s a thirteen-hour time difference between here and Taiwan. It’s not that late in Taiwan, and Ky is a night owl, so he should still be awake.”

  The wait for Harry’s call to be answered seemed to take forever. Harry spoke in English for the benefit of those in the room to show he’d made contact.

  “Hello, brother. It’s me, Harry. I need to talk to you.” He waved his arm so the others would know he had a handle on what he was to do and say. He switched immediately to Chinese and talked a blue streak before he gave up the floor to hear a response. The others waited, hardly daring to breathe. Harry let loose with another long string of rapid-fire Chinese, then waited. And finally, he turned to the team and said, “He wants to know what’s in it for him.”

  “A million dollars each if we’re successful,” Allison said. “Get his banking information, and I’ll pass it on to Lizzie.”

  More rapid-fire Chinese on both ends of the phone.

  Harr
y turned to the team. “He says it isn’t safe for the three of them to fly commercial. He’s certain he can talk Ling and Momo into helping, but we need to get them here safely. The million bucks each helped. A lot.”

  “Tell him to rent a jet and a pilot. Lizzie will take care of the financial end. Or have them just buy a damn plane,” Allison said. “Lizzie can take care of that, too. Give him her number.”

  Harry relayed the information and waited. “He wants to know how long their services will be required.”

  “Ten days, to be safe,” Jack said.

  Once again Harry relayed the information. He listened, a frown building between his brows. He turned again to the team and said, “Okay, but here’s the tiebreaker. He wants to go to Disney World while he’s here.”

  “Done!” Allison all but screamed. “I’ll take him myself!”

  Harry flicked his phone off and started to laugh. Harry hardly ever laughed, and when he did, no one was sure how to react. “We have a deal! He’s going to call Ling and Momo. He’ll call me back. He likes the idea of buying a plane and wants assurance it’s his when this is all over. I said okay to that.

  “He thinks he can get back to me in about three hours,” Harry said. “Buying a plane isn’t an easy thing, he said. I gave him Lizzie’s number, but, Allison, you might want to call her and give her a heads-up so things don’t get mired down in bank transactions. Be sure to tell her the plane’s registration is to go in the name of Ky Moon. Ky will tell her anything else she needs to know when he calls.”

  Allison was busy punching in the number on one of her burner phones. The others moved off to give her privacy.

  “That all went pretty well, Harry,” Jack said, slapping Harry on the back. “How long do you think it will take for a plane sale to go through in Taiwan? You up on stuff like that?”

  “Show me the money, and it’s instantaneous. If your next question is when can we expect them to set foot on American soil, I’d estimate the day after tomorrow, then again, maybe two. Time for Maggie to run a few more articles in the paper, time for the Karas brothers to sweat a little more, and time for Allison to tell us all the things she left out in her first run-through.”