Hard and Fast

by Raven Scott

  “He’s managed to stay completely dark for eight years, now he’s leaving trails of breadcrumbs everywhere,” Ned continued. “He may want to steal Magnus technology, but looks like he wants to beat you even more.”

  “And if he’s still driven by an insatiable need to prove he’s the best hacker out there, maybe we can use his ego to our advantage,” finished Lucas.

  “Any ideas?”

  “Nothing specific yet. But I tell you, Ned, no one has been this close to Purdy since he disappeared off the radar. This may be the only chance to shut him down, and his Crow organization.”

  There was a moment of silence until Ned cleared his throat. Lucas looked up as his friend and knew exactly where the conversation was going to go.

  “You still think this thing between you and Alex is nothing?” Ned finally asked, reference their conversation from weeks ago in Toronto. “I mean, it’s pretty obvious that you haven’t slept in your bed for days.”

  Lucas sat back and ran all his fingers through the short crop of hair on his head.

  “Whatever it is, I have it under control,” he replied serious. “It won’t impact the mission.”

  “I have no doubt about that,” Ned explained. “But that doesn’t make it an easy situation.”

  Lucas didn’t reply and Ned dropped the subject. The two men went back to work through the morning. While things had been very quiet over the last few weeks since Hernandez was arrested, there was a building sense of concern that it wasn’t likely to stay that way. Every day closer to the Vancouver race increased the chances that Crow or someone else would try to take the hybrid technology.

  At one thirty in the afternoon, Lucas headed outside to walk with Alex into town. She was waiting for him out near the stairs down to the pier, and they took the usual route along the boardwalk. It was a mild but cloudy day in late May, and Alex wore a light jacket over close-fitting jeans and sneakers. Lucas couldn’t help but notice how the dark denim hugged her lean limbs and soft curves.

  “How are things back home?” he asked along the way to the town center. “You haven’t asked for any pictures to send to anyone.”

  She laughed.

  “I think that would have created more suspicion than anything else.”

  Lucas grinned back.

  “Everyone seems fine. They’ve asked when I’m planning to be back, so I’ve just told them it would be after the race. Shawn was the only one who seems skeptical about my story.”

  “Anything we should be concerned about?”

  “Nah, he just knows me really well, and is finding it hard to believe I would take off on an extended trip instead of trying to do everything possible to remake my engine.”

  He smiled down at her.

  “He really knows you well.”

  “What about you, Lucas? How does your family deal with your long absences?”

  “They’re pretty used to it by now,” he told her simply.

  “You said you were from New Jersey originally? Do your parents still live there?” she asked.

  “Yup. Along with my two older brothers. One is a cop and the other is a college football coach. Both are married and have a house full of kids.”

  “Do you get to see them often?”

  “A few times a year, at least,” he explained. “My parents come to stay with me at my house in Virginia Beach for a couple of weeks each summer.”

  “Sounds like you guys are pretty close,” she stated.

  “We get along pretty well, but they still don’t really understand what I do. To this day, my mom thinks I was part of the security detail for the president,” he admitted with a chuckle. “She seemed so disappointed every time I told her that wasn’t the only thing the Secret Service did.”

  They walked for a while in silence.

  “I have to admit I find it hard to imagine you were ever a skinny computer geek,” Alex eventually stated.

  Lucas shrugged.

  “I was a very late bloomer, that’s all,” he mused. “Then I met a few big, badass dudes that whipped my ass into shape.”

  “Like Ned?”

  “Yeah, for one. And my partners, Evan and Sam,” he added. “Those are two guys you don’t want to run into in a dark alley when they’re in a bad mood.”

  “I don’t know, Lucas Johnson. I think you can handle yourself pretty well.”

  He only grinned back, but felt ridiculously pleased by her comments.

  Shortly after, they walked through the lakeside park at the edge of town and up to the sidewalk.

  “The post office is across the street from the cafe. We’ll grab your latte on the way back.”

  Over the next five minutes, the skies gradually darkened, threatening a heavy rainfall. They ducked into the small convenience store that housed the post office and rental boxes in the back just as the first few raindrops started to fall. Lucas quickly retrieved the package of copper wiring from their rented box, then stood at the front of the store with Alex to watch the downpour.

  “How long do you think it will last?” she asked.

  There was a bright streak of lightning in the direction of the lake followed by the loud clap of thunder.

  “Hard to say,” he admitted. “Let’s make a run for the cafe, then we can wait it out over afternoon coffee. Will you be okay?”

  He tucked the box under his arm, then zipped up the front of her jacket.

  “Maybe we should get you an umbrella. I’m sure they sell them in here somewhere.”

  Alex looked up at him seriously, then surprised him by rising up on her toes to press a soft, sweet kiss on his lips.

  “I’ll be fine. It’s just rain,” she teased.

  Before he could stop himself, Lucas leaned down to kiss her again, savoring the pleasurable tingle that radiated through his body from the touch.

  “Okay, ready?” he whispered when he finally pulled back.

  “I’ll race you,” she stated quickly, then dashed out the front door to run across the street.

  “Alex, wait!” Lucas immediately yelled, but she didn’t even look back.

  He ran after her, cursing under his breath and doing a full hasty security sweep along the way. Lucas entered the café only seconds after Alex, only to find her giggling as she declared her victory.

  “Damn it, Alex! Don’t ever do that again,” he growled while pulling her with him to the back of the small bakery.

  “What? What did I do?”

  “I told you, never go anywhere without either me or Ned at your side. That’s the protocol. That’s the only way to keep you safe at all times,” he snapped, still struggling to reduce his heart rate.

  There were only a couple of other people in the store, and neither even looked their way.

  “Sorry,” mumbled Alex, her bright golden brown eyes wide with surprise. “I was just messing around.”

  He let out a deep breath.

  “I know. It’s okay,” he finally acknowledged. “You just took me by surprise, that’s all. Here, have a seat. I’ll go get your latte.”

  She nodded, all traces of her earlier playfulness now gone. It made Lucas feel like an ass, but he knew that his reprimand was necessary. The potential danger was too real not to remain diligent at all times.

  While he waited for the barista to make Alex’s specialty coffee, Lucas scanned the street outside to note anything unusual or concerning. At first, it looked calm and quiet except for the pounding of the hard rainfall. Until he noted the car parked two stores down from the postal office. It was a dark blue sedan with rental plates, with one person sitting in the driver’s seat, and it had been there fifteen minutes ago when they had arrived.

  He took out his cell phone to call Ned.

  “I think we have a problem,” he stated immediately.

  “What do you have?” the other agent asked.

  “A stakeout in a rental car, near the post office for at least fifteen minutes.” Lucas provided the license plate number. “Can you work with Laura at headqu
arters to find out who rented it? I’ll keep Alex locked down in the café across the street.”

  “You got it. I’ll send you what we find.”

  “Thanks, but be prepared for an extraction,” Lucas added before they hung up.

  “Is everything okay?” asked Alex when he returned to the table where she was sitting. He handed her the latte and took the seat across from her where he could still see the car on the street.

  “I’m not sure,” he told her honestly.

  “Why? What’s going on?”

  He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, wishing she didn’t look so scared.

  “Nothing for certain. I’ve just asked Ned to check something out,” he told her. “Drink your coffee.”

  Though she looked around with concern, Alex did as he suggested. The text from Ned came less than five minutes later.

  The car was rented with a fake identity. I’m on my way.

  “Alex, we have to go. Ned is coming to take you back to the house,” he stated, standing up.

  “Why? What happened?” she demanded, lower her coffee cup and staring up at him.

  “I think we’re being watched. I want to make sure you and the package get back to the safe house without being followed,” he explained briskly while his eyes remained fixed on the suspect outside.

  “What about you?”

  “Ned will stop the truck across the street in about three minutes. The second he gets here, we’ll run to get you inside, okay?”

  “What about you, Lucas?”

  “Alex, did you hear my instructions?” Lucas demanded while escorting her to the front of the café as casually as possible. “Do you understand?”

  “Yes! I heard you.”

  “Okay, good. I’ll be fine,” he finally explained. “I’m going to stay back and find out who this guy is and make sure he doesn’t locate the house.”

  Within a couple of minutes, Ned drove up the street in their large SUV and came to an abrupt stop in the active lane right beside the dark blue sedan, effectively blocking it. Lucas put a protective arm around Alex’s shoulders and hurried her across the empty street. He nodded at Ned as she quickly ducked into the backseat. Once her passenger door was closed and locked, Lucas withdrew his gun and crept low around the back of their truck and then between the two vehicles. Betting that the driver’s side door was unlocked, he pulled open the door just wide enough to press the barrel of his gun into the side of the driver. The heavyset man jumped in surprise, letting out a stream of curses.

  “Move over,” Lucas demanded while still crouching low at the driver’s door. He poked into the man again with the gun barrel to reemphasize his command. “Now!”

  “Who the fuck are you, man?” the stranger stammered while trying to maneuver his large size over the center console of the car.

  “And don’t bother trying to reach your weapon. I have no problem shooting you in the gut long before you ever get your hands on it,” Lucas explained. “And don’t make me run after you either. You wouldn’t make it to the end of the block.”

  “Okay, okay!” the man yelled desperately with his hands up in the air.

  Finally, after some awkward scrambling, Lucas was able to enter the rented sedan in the driver’s seat. Ned immediately drove away with Alex and the package secured.

  “Give me your wallet,” Lucas instructed with his pistol still discreetly pointed at the man’s midsection. “Slowly.”

  The guy took out a leather billfold from a pocket on the inside of his jacket and handed it over to Lucas before putting his hands up in the air again.

  “Who sent you?” demanded Lucas softly as he flicked open the wallet to read the identification displayed on the inside. ROBERT MALONE.

  “I don’t know. I was just given instructions to come here.”

  “What instructions exactly?”

  “Just to wait for someone to pick up a package from this post office today, and track where they went and provide the location,” Malone explained.

  “How did you get the instructions?”

  “By phone, at my office in Syracuse. I’m a private investigator, so it’s pretty standard stuff.”

  “And how were you to send back the information you gathered?” Lucas asked.

  “I have an e-mail address. It’s inside my wallet.”

  “Good.” Lucas tossed over the wallet so it landed in the other man’s lap. “This is what’s going to happen, Bobby. You’re going to wait until tomorrow to e-mail your client, saying that you did not see who picked up the package at this post office. Got it?”

  “You can’t do this!” stammered Malone. “I’m a legitimate professional.”

  “Unfortunately for you, I can, Bobby,” replied Lucas in a patient and patronizing voice. “Word of advice: I don’t take cases from faceless clients who pay more than the job is worth. There’s a big chance that they’re on the wrong side of legal. Do you get what I’m saying?”

  Robert Malone swallowed a big lump in his throat.

  “What about my payment? I have a business to run!”

  “I can’t help you with that, unfortunately.”

  Lucas could see the desperation in Malone’s eyes and knew immediately that the man was going to do something stupid. They stared at each other for three seconds before the private detective lunged across the center of the car, trying to hit Lucas’s right arm with his elbow and knock the gun out of the way. But Lucas saw his slow attempt coming from a mile away, and followed Malone’s momentum with a swift, fierce jab into the big man’s right jaw with his left elbow. Malone immediately slumped down in the middle of the car, knocked out cold.

  It was still raining pretty hard, with no one on the street to see the struggle. But Lucas remained cautious of anyone who might see him step out of a car where an unconscious guy could be resting for a good twenty minutes or more. And since Malone seemed reluctant to follow his instructions and take his advice, Lucas took matters into his own hands. He turned on the dark blue sedan with the keys in the ignition and drove it and the PI out of town about four miles north, stopping on a rural side street. Then, he took Malone’s wallet, the car keys, and the small pistol he found after a quick search. He left the cell phone, to allow for some tracking. Satisfied that would slow him down sufficiently for the day, Lucas started back to the cottage at a steady jog.

  About a mile outside of the town center, he tossed away the keys, gun, and wallet, minus the driver’s license and a small note with an e-mail address on it, just as Malone had detailed. Lucas then called Ned to provide an update and plan for reinforcements.

  CHAPTER 23

  That evening, Ned left in the seaplane to pick up Samuel Mackenzie and another Fortis agent, Renee Thomas, from LaGuardia Airport in New York. They were back at the lakefront cottage in Skaneateles before midnight. Lucas met them in the backyard as they crossed the lawn.

  “Hey, Renee,” he stated as he patted the tall, lean woman on the shoulder. “Thanks for taking this assignment so last minute.”

  She grinned at him with white teeth that shone brightly against the cool, milk chocolate tone of her skin. As the newest member of the Fortis ground team, this would only be her second mission.

  “No problem, boss. You know how much trouble Sam can get into if I’m not around,” she replied with a strong British accent.

  “I think it’s the other way around, young lady,” came the deep, burly response as Sam stepped up to them.

  Both Lucas and Renee raised their eyebrows.

  “Let’s get inside, and I’ll show you around the house,” continued Lucas. “Renee, you can take the bedroom I’ve been using. There’s a fourth room with two beds. Sam and I can share that one while Ned and Alex can stay where they are now.”

  “No concerns from me,” Sam stated. “I can sleep anywhere.”

  “That’s for sure,” Renee added. “He was asleep the minute we were seated on the flight from D.C. to New York. One of the flight attendants dared to wake him up when w
e were about to land, then ran away scared after the look he gave her.”

  Sam just shrugged. He was a big guy, about six feet four inches and all carved, rippled muscle. There were few people who would risk their lives to point out any of his less endearing qualities. But Renee never seemed to hesitate. Probably because they had a history working together in MI5 prior to Fortis.

  They entered the living room area, where Alex was still awake, sitting at the kitchen counter with a cup of coffee. It had been a long, scary afternoon and evening for her. Lucas gave her a small encouraging smile and watched as she took a deep breath before standing up to meet the new agents.

  “Alexandria Cotts, meet one of my partners, Samuel Mackenzie,” Lucas stated.

  “Nice to meet you in person, Alex,” Sam added as he stood forward and shook her hand. “Call me Sam.”

  “Hi, Sam. Thanks for coming here so quickly,” Alex told him, craning her neck to look up at him.

  “And this is Renee Thomas, our newest recruit,” continued Lucas.

  “Hi, Alex,” said Renee with a wide smile.

  “Hi,” she replied as the two women also shook hands.

  “Why don’t we get settled in for the night,” suggested Lucas. “Then we can meet in the morning at O-eight hundred hours to review the security plan.”

  He and Ned then showed the new agents where they could put down their travel bags. Lucas left them a few minutes later to do a perimeter inspection of the property. All was secure. Back inside, the house was quiet. He paused in the hallway to the bedrooms, knowing the smarter choice would be to join Sam in the fourth bedroom and get a good night’s sleep. But after the events of the day, Lucas didn’t try to resist the need to hold Alex securely in his arms. He strode purposefully to her room at the end of the hall and quickly stripped out of his clothes to join her under the sheets.

  The next morning, Lucas was up before the rest of the team and ready with an operational plan before the others joined him for coffee and a light breakfast. Alex walked through the space a few minutes later, grabbing coffee and a bagel on the way out to her work shed.