At Any Cost

by Allie K. Adams

  "Peck is a madman, but he isn't stupid. He knows the dangers, so he'll probably be somewhere they can contain LEON if it gets out of hand."

  They exchanged looks. "Underground," they said in unison.

  "Peck said something about having a train to catch. Does that make any sense to you?"

  JT smiled. "I think so. The train and I are on very intimate terms, since it did try to run me over. Come on. I know my way back to the ladder."

  "Ladder?" Dan looked at her, down at his useless leg, then back at her. "I can't."

  "You can," she insisted and met his gaze with a look of determination. "For the short time I've known you, you've never been a man to say 'I can't'."

  "That was before."

  "You can't?" She thinned her lips and looked ready to double up her fist and deck him. "Or you won't?"

  Dan thought about that. He wanted to, and the mind was willing, but the body unable. Still, he couldn't shift the burden onto JT. "Let's go."

  "That's better," she said and started toward the door she appeared in. He followed as best he could. "For a second there I thought I'd have to carry you, you big baby."

  Did she just call him a baby? And why, then, did he smile at that? "You wouldn't be able to. I outweigh you by at least fifty pounds."

  She looked at him, a playful arch on her brow. "You'd be surprised how strong a person can be when they set their mind to it. We're partners. I'm not about to leave you. I need you. You don't always have to be the brave one, the strong one."

  Yes, he did.

  He thought about what Peck had said, wanting desperately to tell her, to talk to her, but knowing he couldn't. Besides, what good would it do? He shouldn't have let it get to him. But he did, and now he couldn't let it go.

  As if the nightmares weren't bad enough already. He ground out a sigh.

  "Do you want to tell me about it?"

  "No," he replied, not wanting to know how she was able to pick up on his thoughts, and reaffirming his belief that women were mind readers.

  "Sure you do. We have nothing but time while we chase down the bad guys. We agreed to no more secrets."

  "You agreed to that. I didn't."

  She turned and met his eyes. "So you do have secrets?"

  Damn it. "How about we focus on stopping Peck?"

  "And miss watching you squirm? Not in a million. Spill, Weber. At the pace you're walking—"

  "At least I'm walking," he defended. "Do you think we're still at the compound?"

  "Yes. Mercado told his men to take me back up to the house. NASSD could never find this place because it's underground. That's my guess."

  "Good guess," Dan agreed. It made perfect sense. Pedro gave them exactly what they requested. Satellite imaging would never pick up schematics of Mercado's compound if it resided underground. Neither would the heat seekers. By the looks of the shiny silver floors, walls, and ceilings, the entire lab was encased in aluminum alloy. Undetectable by any of their surveillance equipment. Even if LEON broke loose, they'd never see it.

  Until it was too late.

  Chapter 24

  JT led them down a narrow hall, over a pile of Mercado's men. Dan helped himself to the rest of the weapons she couldn't carry and over to a metal cover on the floor at the end of another hall. She knelt down and lifted the cover, revealing a ladder.

  "You see?" She looked up at him triumphantly. "I knew I could find this place again."

  "I had no doubt," Dan agreed. He glanced down at the dark hole, wondering just how in the hell he was going to maneuver down a ladder with an unbendable leg.

  "There's a train that comes zooming by, nearly taking off whatever body part you aren't lucky enough to get out of the way. We make sure we are on it."

  "And your plan is to jump this high-speed train and ride it to the demonstration?"

  "Bingo. Peck had a train to catch. You said so yourself. Well, now so do we. It's our best chance to get to the demonstration before it's too late. Right now we don't even know where it is."

  She had to be nuts. And so did he for listening to her. But damn if it didn't make sense. "Let's do it."

  "What did he say to you?"

  "Come again?"

  "What did Peck say to you that made you so—"

  "Goddamn pissed off?"

  "I was going to say distracted, but I like the way you put it better."

  "I'm the reason the rest of my team is dead. Including your uncle," he admitted in a gruff voice. No need beating around the bush. She had started down the ladder but stopped at his admission.

  "You?"

  "That's right."

  "The entire team?"

  "Yep."

  She mumbled something and shook her head, disappeared down the hole. Dan lowered himself down, his heart sinking even deeper in response to her reaction. Did she hate him? Of course she did. Her uncle was dead now because of him.

  His insides felt like they'd pooled into the middle of a black abyss. The guilt ate at his very fiber. He couldn't bend the one leg, so he carefully balanced between his arms and other leg as he hopped down after her. "I was meant to die that day. And now, because I lived through it, the rest of the team was sacrificed. I should have been the one."

  JT jumped off the last step and waited in silence. As soon as he lowered himself and turned to her, she promptly slapped him across the face. Again.

  "Ow! Jesus Christ, woman." Couldn't she see his face had already received enough of a beating?

  "You egotistical ass!" Her eyes were like fire as they pierced into him. "How dare you play God!"

  She grabbed his shoulders and gave him a good shake. Hard. He winced as she jarred every bone in his body, broken or other. "You may think you are the righteous one. God only knows you act like it. But you are only human. You don't get to decide when it's your time, only He does. How dare you stand there and say it should have been you. Are you second guessing His plan for you?"

  Where did that come from? She'd never talked about being a religious person. And how did she always find the exact thing to say to make him question himself? He'd never doubted any of his beliefs until she came along.

  "Did you ever swim to the shallow end of your pity pool long enough to think that maybe He had a different plan?"

  He listened.

  "No wonder you are so miserable. You can't control everything, Dan. You lived because you were meant to. How you choose to live is up to you. Don't waste it blaming yourself for something you have no control over."

  "The rest of them are with Him now. Gessler. My uncle. They don't blame you, so why should you blame yourself? All of them are up there right now. And they are watching you, counting on you to finish this. They aren't about to let you fail. And neither am I."

  An enormous weight lifted and Dan felt a breath enter his lungs. It felt glorious. Deep, fresh, like he'd been at the bottom of the pool for too long. He could taste the sweetness of the air, and took it in.

  He'd never thought about it quite like that.

  A faint cry of a whistle broke his epiphany. "What was that?"

  "The train," she replied calmly. They had a train racing toward them, and she didn't even break a sweat. "It isn't like a real train. I think it's more like a subway. Either way, it's going to hurt if we don't make this. Get ready."

  "For what?" He swallowed and glanced down as the rails started to rattle. The light grew brighter, and when the whistle sounded again, he sucked in a breath.

  This was suicide.

  "JT—"

  "Ready?"

  "No." Dan kept darting his eyes between the train and JT as she prepared to pounce.

  "Three..."

  "This isn't a good idea. I can't jump."

  "Are we back to 'I can't?' Two..."

  "Woman, you are not going to—"

  "One..."

  "Damn it. Listen to me!"

  "Go!" She jumped forward and grabbed hold of one of the side rails. Spidering up the side, she disappeared over the top.
<
br />   "Shit," Dan muttered. He looked at the train as it continued to whiz by. Since when did she have more balls than he did? "Guys, if you are up there? I could use a little help down here."

  He felt a warmth envelope him and as he pushed off the wall, swore someone gave him the extra push he needed to grab hold of a rail. Quick as a man with a blown out knee and dislocated elbow, he shimmied up the side and over the top.

  He turned and looked back at the spot he'd just left and had to blink. He could have sworn he saw Gessler standing there, waving him on. Blinking and shaking his head, he looked again.

  Nothing.

  "I have to be honest," JT said as she approached, yelling over the loud humming of the train. "I didn't think you'd do it."

  He turned his attention to her after a final look back. Still nothing. Seriously, he didn't think he would, either. "Anything you can do, I can do."

  "But I can do it better," she countered, smiling.

  Damn how he wanted to kiss her right now. But racing toward a demonstration for a weapon of targeted destruction, while literally straddling a train, kept him a safe distance from her.

  It felt good, felt right, to have the burden of his friends' deaths off his shoulders. He didn't know why he'd never thought of it the way JT had. But he was glad he now did. She's successfully done in five minutes what he'd been unable to do for two years.

  She was truly incredible, he told himself. A slight grin started at the corners of his mouth.

  "When do we jump?" She asked, yelling to keep her voice above the noise of the train.

  He lost what little smile he had. "You don't know?"

  "I didn't really think that far ahead."

  Dan cursed. The damn woman always jumped in with both feet, never considering the consequences. And now she had him doing the same thing. "I guess we wait for the train to... Slow... Down?"

  As if on queue, the train slowed, taking them out of the dark and narrow rock tunnel and into an enormous cave before it stopped completely. Off to one side, a large landing housed dozens of wood crates. Some were opened, some closed. All possessed Mercado's name on the side. His men were everywhere, cursing and yelling out orders in Spanish.

  They found the shipment.

  Both remained perfectly still, stunned at the sight and at their luck. They flattened themselves out on top of the train. There had to be at least thirty men. Too many for them to take out on their own.

  Shit. Now what?

  "I have a plan," JT whispered in his ear.

  Good. Because he didn't.

  "We shimmy down the other side of the train, use it as cover, and shoot the hell out of them. What do you say?"

  "I'd say we'd get through maybe half before they surround us and pump us full of lead. You aren't wearing any Kevspa. I am, but even as successful as the suits are to slow bullets, that many that close would turn us both into Swiss cheese. Mercado would still get LEON , and Peck would get away."

  She looked disappointed and frowned, and he almost laughed. She really did enjoy shooting. "Do you have a better idea?"

  He scanned their arsenal. Hand guns. That's it. Why didn't he grab those UZIs off the guards he took out?

  A whooshing sound caught his attention. He lifted his head just enough to see through his limited vision. A set of double doors opened, and Santos Mercado walked out, followed by six of his bodyguards.

  Holy hell. An elevator. And Dan would bet his good leg it led back up into the house. He thought about the wine cellar. The wall without any wine. He didn't even see the opening.

  Very clever.

  "I told them to take her back up to the house. Find her," He ordered in Spanish. "And kill the men assigned to watch her. I will not tolerate mistakes."

  Too late, asshole. JT did an adequate job of taking care of those men already.

  "Radio in when you find her."

  "Do you want us to kill her?"

  Mercado slowed, turned to the man who asked the question. "If I wanted her dead, I would have killed her myself. Find her. Take her back up to the house. I do not want to hear from you until you have her."

  "Yes, sir." The men behind Mercado stopped following him and turned back toward the elevator, disappeared when the doors closed. Mercado picked up his pace and walked to the other end of the landing, through another set of double doors.

  That must be the lab. Dan lowered his head and looked back at JT to see if she caught everything Mercado said.

  She was gone.

  Whipping around, he looked over the other side of the train just in time to see JT slide down the side. She crouched down and, gun drawn, started to sneak toward the landing.

  Dan motioned for her to stop. He motioned for her to pull back. But without her looking back toward him, his motions were pointless.

  Shit. She really did have a death wish.

  He watched anxiously as she moved around to the front of the train. Still crouching, she jumped to the landing and silently landed behind a crate. Dan pulled a pistol to give her cover, should she need it.

  Navigating from crate to crate, she made her way closer to the double doors leading to the lab. But, instead of rushing through the doors, she passed them and moved closer to the elevator.

  Dan's mouth ran dry.

  The doors opened. None of the men seemed to notice, or seemed to care. JT snuck inside and closed the doors.

  Where in the hell did she think she was going?

  * * * *

  After all that had happened, JT was back in an elevator, hiding from Mercado's men. She laughed at the irony. An elevator got her into this mess, and now it was about to save them all.

  Dan didn't mention anything about Snyder, which meant one of two things. He'd partnered with Dan and didn't make it, or he was back at the bar. She was counting on the latter.

  A quick hot wire of the many cars she remembered seeing, and she'd be back at the bar in no time. Snyder could use the satcom link to call in the cavalry, and they would be breaking down Mercado's door in no time.

  In a perfect world.

  The doors opened and JT pushed herself against the wall of the elevator, just in case. The men were gone. A quick peek told her the coast was clear and she hurried out into the corner of the room. It looked like a wine cellar. From the bottles she could see, Mercado had a taste for Merlot.

  She hurried up the stairs into the house, careful to stay hidden from the windows and pausing before entering each room. As she moved through the large entryway toward the front door, a voice froze her in her tracks.

  "Looking for me?"

  JT whirled around, ignoring the pain in both her shoulder and now her side. A long-legged woman with long dark curls and equally dark eyes stood there, a gun in her hand. She pointed it at JT and cocked it.

  "Drop it. Kick it over to me."

  JT threw her gun down and did as instructed. The woman picked it up and removed the bullet from the pipe, dropped the clip.

  "And you are?"

  "Alejandra. But most know me as Raven."

  "Raven?" JT glared at the woman. Feelings JT didn't even know she had for this woman bubbled to the surface. Rage. Vengeance. She detested her for what she did to Dan, and that feeling soon grew to a staggering fury.

  "I can tell by your reaction Dan told you about me." She arched a raven brow. "Tell me, are you two lovers?"

  "None of your damn business," JT hissed.

  "I'll take that as a yes." She curled her perfectly painted, bright red lips. "I see he's lowered his standards."

  "Screw you."

  Raven smirked. "He is good, isn't he? It's too bad I have to kill him. What a waste. But, my marks don't live. Period. It's a promise I stand by. Maybe after I kill you, I'll have one last fling with him before I kill him, too."

  "Over my dead body, bitch." JT doubled up her fists and charged, screaming at the top of her lungs and catching Raven by surprise. She knocked them both to the floor and slammed Raven's wrist against the hardwood to knock the gun lo
ose. It dropped, and JT pushed it aside.

  She wanted to kill this woman with her bare hands. A gun would make it too easy, over too quickly.

  Raven pushed JT off and jumped to her feet, lunged for the gun. JT grabbed her by the hair and jerked her back. She felt a handful rip from Raven's scalp, which made her pull harder, ripping out more.

  Raven cried out and tried to pry JT's hands out of her hair. JT took the opportunity to spin her around and connect her fist with Raven's perfect, surgically altered nose, breaking it on contact. She cried out and, using both hands, covered her face.

  Bad move, Princess.

  JT swung her foot around and slammed it against the side of Raven's head. Her ankle exploded in pain. Damn. No shoes. She hoped it didn't break. She stepped down. Nope, not broke. Just hurt like hell.

  Raven fell to the ground. She crawled toward the gun. With her opposite foot, JT swung around and tried to kick her again, but the bitch spun out of the way. She almost reached the gun by the time JT recovered and pulled her back.

  Raven jumped to her feet and pulled a knife. Where did that come from? "You want to play rough, replacement?"

  Replacement? That comment drove her beyond the rage she already had for this woman.

  "Let's dance." The bitch said, disdain dripping from her voice.

  JT widened her stance. They circled around, each waiting for the other to make the first move. Raven jumped into action and lunged at JT with the knife. It narrowly missed her ribcage. She recovered and lunged again, this time nicking JT in the forearm.

  Raven arched her brow. The sight of this woman's arrogance sent JT into a newfound rage. She tackled her down and the knife went sliding across the floor. Jumping up, JT hurried and grabbed it, turned and pointed it toward Raven.

  Raven charged, her nails drawn. JT positioned the knife just right. Come on. Come on. As Raven closed the gap between them, JT lunged and imbedded the knife into Raven's chest, directly into her heart.

  JT backed away. Raven stood there, a stunned look on her face, her mouth open. She looked down at the knife, and then back at JT.

  "This is for Dan," JT said. She brought her foot up and kicked the blade the rest of the way in. Raven fell back.