Crossfire

by Traci Hunter Abramson

  Seth watched her slip back inside, his heart aching as he tried to identify the swirl of emotions running through him. Would he have gotten baptized so that Vanessa would marry him? He had loved her enough that he would have seriously considered it. Would he have taken the time to really understand what baptism meant? Probably not.

  As he stared out into the night, he asked himself another question. Now that religion was no longer an obstacle, was it possible for him and Vanessa to move past the hurt and pain and once again find the love they had shared so long ago? And could they possibly build a future together?

  A two-man patrol came into view, and Seth let out a sigh. Who was he kidding? It didn’t matter if he could look past the hurt or if she still loved him. Vanessa worked undercover, and he was a Navy SEAL. Even if they did manage to get out of the fortress alive, he couldn’t be sure he would ever see her again.

  The familiar ache spread through his chest, and he wondered if he could survive losing Vanessa twice in one lifetime.

  20

  “Amy?” Gina tied the belt to her robe as she stood in the open doorway to her apartment, her eyes still struggling to adjust to the early morning light. “What are you doing here?”

  “Sorry to wake you up, Gina, but I need to talk to you.”

  She shook her head, still half asleep, as her eyes shifted to focus on Brent. “Who are you?”

  “Amy’s husband,” Brent said simply. “Can we come in? It’s really important.”

  “Yeah, sure.” Gina moved away from the door, leaving Brent and Amy to close it behind them. She headed for the tiny kitchen and started rummaging around for a clean cup. “Can I get you something to drink?”

  “No, thanks.” Amy followed her to the kitchen. “Gina, I need to know if you have a photo of your boyfriend.”

  “Roberto?” Gina thought for a minute and then shook her head. “No, I don’t. He doesn’t like having his picture taken.”

  “You said he calls every night even when he’s out of town, right?”

  “Yeah, he’s really good about that.” Gina gave her a sleepy smile.

  “Do you ever talk about work?”

  “No, he doesn’t like to talk about his work.”

  Amy shook her head, wondering if Gina could really be this clueless or if she was still half asleep. “Not his work, your work.”

  “Oh.” Gina poured herself a glass of orange juice and then moved over to the mound of clothes that was hiding her couch. She shoved a pile of her laundry aside and sat down. “I guess we talk about my work sometimes. I mean, he always asks how my day was and if anything interesting happened.”

  “And what do you tell him?”

  “Just basic stuff.” Gina shrugged. “You know, the crazy things Carl has me doing and what our latest projects are.”

  “Gina, you know that everything that goes on in the office is classified.”

  Gina looked at her, a bit bewildered. “I’m only a secretary. I don’t deal with the classified stuff.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Brent muttered under his breath.

  “What?” Gina sat up a little straighter, finally appearing completely awake. “You still haven’t told me why you’re here, or why you’re asking about Roberto.”

  With a shake of her head, Amy emptied the manila envelope she held, sliding a dozen photos out of it. “Can you tell me if any of these men are Roberto?”

  Gina shifted to take the photos, flipping through the first six quickly. She then looked at the photo in her hand, and her eyes lifted to Amy’s. “Why do you have a picture of my boyfriend?”

  Brent moved quickly to see which photo she had identified. Ignoring Gina, he spoke to Amy. “It’s Roberto Havar. He’s one of Ramir’s pilots.”

  “What are you talking about? He flies for Air Caribe.”

  “No, Gina. He doesn’t,” Amy told her firmly. “He’s a pilot for an arms dealer, and he’s been using you for information.”

  Gina’s face paled, but still she shook her head. “I don’t believe you.”

  “You don’t have to believe me, but you can’t talk to him again,” Amy told her, aware that Brent had moved outside to make the phone call to Carl Dowdy.

  Tears welled up in Gina’s eyes, and she shook her head again. “You’re wrong about Roberto. I know you are.”

  “I’m sorry, Gina,” Amy said softly. “But I’m not wrong.”

  * * *

  “Where are the infrared satellite photos of the fortress?” Kel demanded the minute he walked into the boardroom his squad had claimed as soon as they arrived aboard. After turning Gina over to Carl Dowdy for questioning, they had flown out to the USS Harry S. Truman and were now hoping to find their missing man.

  Kel had been stuck in debriefings during his first hour on board, but now he was clearly ready to get his team into action.

  “We’re still waiting on them,” Amy told him.

  Amy was grateful that looks couldn’t kill when Kel turned to glare at her and asked, “What?”

  “I’m just the messenger.” Amy held her hands up in surrender. “Intel said they should be here in fifteen minutes.” She looked at Kel once more and stood up. “Why don’t I go wait for them up in communications? Maybe they’ll work a bit quicker if I’m looking over their shoulders.”

  She moved past Brent and heard him mutter, “Especially if they think Kel might come up himself.”

  Suppressing a grin, Amy left the room and made her way through the maze of hallways to the comm room. She approached Lieutenant Dana Carillo, hoping for some good news. “Please tell me you have the infrareds. If I go back without them, you may have to start planning our funerals.”

  Dana’s eyebrows rose, and the corners of her mouth lifted in the beginnings of a smile. “I gather the commander is getting impatient.”

  “Now, that’s an understatement.” Amy nodded. She had worked with Dana before, and they had developed a friendship the last time they had been on an assignment together. “Do you know when they’re coming in?”

  “Actually, they just got here. I had a feeling you might be heading up here, so I printed them off.” Dana retrieved the printout off the printer tray and lifted it up. She stared at the top page a moment and then looked up at Amy. “They aren’t thinking of going in here, are they?”

  “I don’t know. Why?”

  “Look at this.” Dana pointed to a cluster of red dots in three different areas on the photo. “With the multilevel structure, it’s hard to tell exactly how many people this is picking up, but it looks like we’re talking about a couple of hundred.”

  “Are you serious?” Amy’s stomach clenched as her concern about this mission tripled. She hadn’t been with the Saint Squad when they had first considered going after Fahid Ramir at the fortress, but she was familiar with the mission where they had ultimately captured him and his family. She also knew all about the young boy who had been killed as a demonstration of what happened when Fahid didn’t get what he wanted. By all accounts, Akil was just as ruthless as his brother, and neither of them compared to Morenta, the man he was rumored to be working with. Amy thought of Seth and wondered whether he and Vanessa would really be able to keep up the charade that they belonged among these monsters.

  She stared down at the photos for a moment before looking back at Dana.

  Dana met her stare, her expression somber. “I know your guys are good, but getting in there might take a miracle.”

  Amy tried to fight against the fear that bubbled up inside her as she considered that it wasn’t only Seth who was in danger. She knew that Brent and the rest of the Saint Squad had every intention of going in and bringing Seth and Vanessa home—no matter the odds. She took a deep breath as she took the photo from Dana, reminding herself that these men were among the best in the SEAL teams. “If anyone can come up with a miracle, it’s the Saint Squad.”

  “I sure hope so.”

  * * *

  “I’m starting to feel like a prisoner h
ere,” Vanessa said, fisting her hands on her hips. She was still frustrated by the situation with Seth from the night before, and transferring that frustration to Akil had been effortless when she had been informed that she was no longer permitted to eat in the dining room.

  Instead of accepting her uncle’s latest directive, she had insisted on going up to the penthouse to meet with him face-to-face. She tried not to think of the violence she had seen shimmering from him during their last confrontation, instead focusing on the need to uncover his plans.

  “Lina, until Morenta leaves the compound, it isn’t safe for you to be wandering through the house.”

  “Let me get this straight. You insisted that I stay here, even though you knew Morenta was coming, only so you could lock me in my room?” Vanessa’s voice was indignant. “Why did you bring me here in the first place? I could have stayed at La Playa and been perfectly safe.”

  Akil’s voice was tight. “La Playa was raided by the police yesterday.”

  “What?” Vanessa managed to look surprised. “Is that why you brought me here?”

  He shook his head. “I brought you here because this is the safest place for you.” He motioned for her to sit down. “I didn’t expect to see Morenta here. We were supposed to meet in Colombia, but he insisted on coming here instead.”

  “Are you sure you trust him enough to do business with him?”

  Again, Akil shook his head. He reached out and touched Vanessa’s hand. “He is a necessary evil in my business, but that part will be over soon.”

  “Tell me what you’re planning so I can help.”

  “It is safer if you do not know,” Akil insisted. “Morenta will be leaving soon. Please indulge me and stay in your room until then. I do not want you seen by him and his men. Seth can go to the kitchen and get you whatever you need.”

  Vanessa let out a sigh. “When will he leave?”

  “The day after tomorrow,” Akil told her. “Once he is gone, we can discuss the future.”

  Vanessa looked at him quizzically, wondering if he would provide enough information for her to piece together his plans. Realizing that she wasn’t going to get anything else out of him at the moment, she nodded and stood. “I hope you know what you are doing.”

  “Trust me.” Akil granted her a small smile. “I know exactly what I’m doing.”

  21

  Seth stood in the kitchen next to the dining room door as he waited for the meal that he would take upstairs to Vanessa. Several of Morenta’s men were eating lunch in the dining room as they spoke in Spanish about their upcoming travels. Although Spanish was not one of the languages that Seth was completely fluent in, he understood it well enough. Unfortunately, the voices were often hushed and he was only able to pick out a few words.

  Several mentions of Arizona confused him, and he tried to figure out what kind of target a terrorist would go for there. Then he heard the word electricidad. Electricity. A previous conversation with Vanessa flashed through his mind. He had asked her what these men were trying to accomplish. One of those possibilities was that they were trying to somehow weaken the borders between the U.S. and Mexico.

  Could these men be planning some kind of attack on the power plants in Arizona? An attack that would weaken their defenses and allow the drug trade easier access?

  Seth considered what he had seen on the sneak-and-peek missions over the past few weeks. The training facilities he had infiltrated had not included the shooting ranges he might have expected. Instead, the people residing there seemed to be working on something more elusive than guns, something that required planning and patience.

  While weapons were certainly plentiful at each location Seth had visited, he and his teammates had also identified materials that could be used in making explosives. Seth heard someone step up behind him, and he had to use every ounce of willpower to keep from turning around.

  “Hear anything interesting?” Halim asked softly, his voice carrying a hint of accusation as well as some genuine curiosity.

  Seth turned to look at Halim and gave a casual shrug. “I was just wishing that I could speak Spanish,” Seth admitted. He had been caught spying on Morenta’s men, and he knew denying it would only raise suspicions. He considered what Vanessa had told him the night before and opted to be as truthful as he could without giving away his identity. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t trust these guys. I’ll feel a lot better when they’re gone.”

  Halim looked a bit surprised by his answer. After a brief moment, he let his gaze turn back to the men in the dining room. “You aren’t the only one.”

  Tension rippled through the room when the door opened and Morenta entered with his bodyguards. Several of his men hastily finished up their meal and left the room, and others lowered their eyes to their plates as though afraid to be caught looking at their boss. Morenta didn’t acknowledge anyone in the room as he crossed to the table that had clearly been reserved for him.

  His dark eyes were hard and cold as they swept the room, and he waited briefly to be served. Seth could almost feel the evil emanating from the man and was grateful he wasn’t in Morenta’s line of sight. Turning back to look at Halim, Seth spoke quietly. “I hope Akil knows what he’s doing.”

  “He does,” Halim assured him. “But I suggest you make sure we keep Lina out of sight. It’s best not to take any chances.”

  Seth nodded, a little surprised by Halim’s obvious concern for Vanessa. In that moment, he looked like a normal man, one who cared deeply for those close to him. Seth reminded himself that Halim also had a dark side, one that could turn to murder with the least bit of provocation. When one of the cooks approached with Vanessa’s food, Seth stepped toward the door. He glanced over at Halim once more and motioned to the dining room. “Watch your back.”

  Halim nodded, and Seth could feel his eyes on him as he left the room.

  * * *

  “I don’t like the looks of this,” Amy said to the four men who were currently studying the various satellite photos.

  Quinn ignored Amy’s concerns and tapped a finger on the photo of the airstrip at the fortress. “Do you think this is the same plane that was at Morenta’s villa in Cali?”

  “It’s a good possibility.” Kel nodded. “If the plane went to Cali to pick Morenta up, it would explain why there are so many people at the fortress right now.”

  “And it would also indicate that Morenta and Akil Ramir are planning something together,” Tristan commented.

  “Now that’s scary,” Amy said.

  Kel gave a brief nod. “The rest of SEAL Team Eight arrives in the morning.”

  “When do you want to go in?”

  “We can brief the rest of the team tomorrow after they arrive and go in tomorrow night.”

  “Kel, that’s crazy.” Amy spoke up again.

  Kel turned to look at her. “I’m not leaving Seth and Vanessa in there.”

  “I agree, but we have to be logical,” Amy told him. “According to what Vanessa told Seth, we still have another week until whatever they’re planning goes down. Doesn’t it make sense to give Seth and Vanessa a bit more time to figure out what’s going on?”

  “Akil didn’t confide in Vanessa about his plans before. There’s no way he’s going to include her now.”

  “We can’t be sure of that.” Amy folded her arms across her chest. “She’s hardly seen Akil over the past year that she’s been undercover. Now that they’re staying in the same place, she might have a better chance of figuring out what he’s planning.”

  “Amy, face it. That’s not going to happen,” Kel disagreed. “Our best chance is to strike while everyone is at the fortress.”

  “In Nicaragua,” Amy stated sarcastically. “We can’t pull an all-out strike there, and you know it. And there’s no way the Nicaraguan government is going to help us out, especially if they find out that Morenta is there.”

  “Then what do you suggest?”

  “I don’t know, but maybe it’s time we
spent some time praying about our options, because this is bigger than anything we’ve ever faced before.” Amy turned and unlatched the hatch that led into the hall. “I’m going to go see if we have updated photos.”

  Kel watched her go and then turned to look at Brent. “You know, your wife can be a real pain sometimes.”

  “I know,” Brent conceded. “The annoying thing is that she’s usually right.”

  * * *

  Vanessa stood up the minute Seth entered the room with their breakfast. She looked down at the floor for a moment before lifting her eyes to meet his. Her voice was unusually timid when she said, “I thought we could eat out on the balcony.”

  Seth simply nodded and followed her through the door. He had avoided talking to her that morning before he left to go down to the kitchen. He didn’t know it was possible for the hurt of the past to come back full force, but he had spent the night mourning the reality that he and Vanessa would never have a future together. It was as though the past wounds had reopened, and a new layer of pain had been added to them.

  His heart literally ached as he moved past her and set the tray on the white wicker table. He waited for her to take a seat before he sat beside her.

  “What did you find out?” Vanessa asked, keeping her voice low.

  Keep it business, Seth told himself. He picked up a baguette and broke it in half before finally lifting his eyes to meet hers. He took a deep breath and let it back out. “From what I’ve been able to piece together, it looks like one part of the plan is to take out at least one power plant. I’ve heard Arizona mentioned a couple of times, and Morenta’s men have been talking about electricity.”

  “A couple of years ago there was a threat against the nuclear power plant outside of Phoenix. Do you think that could be the target?”

  “Maybe.” Seth paused as he buttered his bread. He then lifted his eyes to meet hers once more. “With Morenta involved, I think there’s more than one target.”