Crossfire

by Traci Hunter Abramson

“I can’t figure out what they’re planning to do with the helicopters,” Vanessa told him. “There’s no way they would be able to fly into U.S. airspace without being intercepted, but everything I’ve heard makes me think that the attack will take place on U.S. soil.”

  Seth leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. He nodded in the direction of the airfield where the attack helicopters were parked. “Obviously you were right about them getting a hold of some Z-10s.”

  Vanessa nodded. “Yeah, I remember worrying about it because they carry the LR3 missiles. I’m sure you know those missiles can take down a target a good hundred miles out with decent accuracy.”

  Some of the tension from the night before eased out of him as Seth shook his head and let out a soft laugh.

  “What?”

  “I was just thinking how strange it is to be having this conversation with you. Most women don’t have a clue what a Z-10 is, much less know its capabilities.”

  “Yeah, well I’m still trying to adjust to the fact that you could climb up the side of a building if you wanted to.” Vanessa gave him a pointed look. “It’s like you’re Superman.”

  “Superman leaps tall buildings.” Seth’s eye lit with humor. “Spiderman is the one who climbs them.”

  Vanessa rolled her eyes and grinned. “Spiderman then.”

  Seth nodded at the ground below, where one of the patrols was crossing into their line of sight. “Just don’t tell those guys you think I’m a superhero. They’re suspicious enough of me as it is.”

  “With good reason.”

  “How did you learn so much about the Z-10s? That information isn’t exactly readily available, even for field agents in the CIA.”

  “Believe it or not, my main specialties are weapons and aircraft,” Vanessa told him. “In fact, the Agency even tried to teach me how to fly.”

  “What do you mean ‘tried to’?”

  “I did pretty well with the flying part. It was the landing I never managed to figure out.”

  “That part is kind of important.” Seth gave in to the urge to grin.

  The rumble of a helicopter engine sounded, and Seth watched for the helicopter on the pad beside the fortress to come into view as it did every morning. As he watched it fly over the trees, he looked back at Vanessa, possibilities flooding his mind. “What kind of security does that nuclear power plant in Arizona have?”

  “It’s pretty tight, especially since it’s the largest in the country. Not only is the security tight on the ground, but the plant is under restricted air space, and there’s an Air Force base nearby that is on standing orders to intercept.”

  “But it’s a small base, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “I was just thinking,” Seth began as he stood up and paced to the railing. Turning back to look at her, he continued, “A few years ago there was a controversy about a power station that was built in southern Arizona near the California border.”

  “I don’t remember that.”

  “There was a debate over where to build it because most of the land in the southern part of the state is federally protected. A big chunk belongs to an Indian reservation, and then there’s some military-owned land and national parks,” Seth told her. “Apparently, they managed to get it built despite many people’s concerns that it was too close to the Mexican border.”

  “How close?”

  “Sixty, maybe seventy miles.”

  “Which is definitely in range of the missiles on the Z-10s.”

  “Yeah.” Seth nodded. “They wouldn’t have to cross into U.S. airspace. They could fire from Mexico.”

  “For what purpose?”

  “That power plant doesn’t serve the public. It serves the military.” Seth paused for a moment. “Including the Marine bases in Yuma and Fort Huachuca.”

  “Fort Huachuca—as in the military base that monitors communications for terrorist activity?”

  “Exactly.” Seth nodded. “If that power plant were hit, the Arizona border would be completely vulnerable.”

  “That power plant probably also powers the new surveillance grids along the border.”

  Seth stared at her. “That may be exactly what’s driving this whole thing. If Morenta thinks the new security is going to shut down his drug routes into the U.S., he may be trying to knock it out before it becomes operational.”

  “And for whatever reason, Akil has been drafted into helping him.”

  “It’s a perfect match in that respect.” Seth shook his head as everything began falling into place. “Morenta has the money to back Akil’s goals of putting together a major terrorist strike, and he also eliminates a major obstacle that could stand in the way of his business.”

  “So if they pull this off, Morenta’s drug trade continues, business as usual.”

  “And Akil Ramir makes world headlines by creating a nuclear disaster,” Seth added. “The fallout alone could affect the entire western United States.”

  “We only have another week before this is going to happen,” Vanessa reminded him. “How are we going to get the word out?”

  “Morenta leaves the day after tomorrow,” Seth told her. “As soon as he’s gone, we’ll see if we can pick up any more information, and then we’ll get out of here.”

  “Do you really think we can get out of here alive?”

  His eyes darkened, but he nodded. “I’ll get you out of here.”

  22

  Seth woke to a constant knocking on his door. He sat up, instantly awake, but as he listened for a moment, he realized the sound wasn’t coming from the door that led to the living area, but rather the French door that led out onto the patio.

  He pulled on a pair of camouflage pants and a plain T-shirt before opening the door to find Vanessa outside on the balcony. The sky was still dark, the blackness of the night just beginning to turn deep blue in the east.

  Remembering the listening devices in his room, he stepped outside and listened to make sure no one was on the balcony above them before he asked, “What’s going on? It’s four in the morning.”

  “Four-fifteen, actually,” Vanessa told him, looking surprised that he guessed the time so closely without the aid of a watch. “I’m sorry to wake you, but I thought you should see this.” She lifted a hand and pointed at the airfield.

  A supply truck was parked near one of the airplanes, and at least a dozen men were moving its contents onto an airplane.

  “Do you think those are the antiaircraft guns I heard Halim talking about?”

  “It’s a good guess.” Seth nodded. “The crates are about the right size.”

  “You know, I’ve been thinking,” Vanessa started, her voice low. “If they’re concerned about having antiaircraft guns in place, they’re expecting some kind of retaliation.”

  “Either that, or they want them as a precaution to protect the helicopters.”

  “But if they’re expecting retaliation, the power plant you were telling me about might only be the first target,” Vanessa continued. “Think about it. What would happen if they were successful in taking out that power station?”

  “I already told you. The military bases in that area of the country and probably the new electronic border defenses would be without power.”

  “And wouldn’t the fighter planes at the Marine base be called in to respond?”

  “Yeah, I’m sure they would,” Seth agreed. “They would have emergency generators to power the flight tower and all of the essential areas on base.”

  “What about the planes at the Air Force base?” Vanessa asked. “Would they be dispatched too?”

  “Probably.” Seth’s eyes narrowed. “What are you thinking?”

  “I’m thinking that these helicopters are capable of flying in under our radar. If Fort Huachuca isn’t fully operational, they aren’t as likely to pick up the radio communication of these terrorists, and with our fighters deployed, there’s a good chance they’re going to try to sneak one of these Z-10s in to go
for that nuclear power plant.” Silence hung between them as they considered this possibility.

  “If they succeeded, it would be disastrous,” Seth said soberly.

  “How secure is the core at the nuclear power plant?” Vanessa asked, quickly adding, “What would happen if the plant was hit by one of the LR3 missiles?”

  “Remember Chernobyl?” Seth asked. “This has the potential of being twice as bad.”

  Vanessa nodded slowly and added, “Besides the initial explosion, we’d be dealing with a massive radiation leak, and the fallout would likely affect the entire western United States if not the whole country.”

  Seth’s lips pressed into a hard line. “We need to find out if your theory is right.”

  Vanessa nodded somberly. “I know.”

  “We also need to get a message out to my squad.”

  “How are you going to do that?” Vanessa looked at him as though he had lost his mind. “We’re practically being held prisoner here in our rooms, and you know they have to be tracking all communications in and out of this place.”

  Seth looked at her, clearly amused. “I wasn’t planning on using a phone.”

  “Then what?”

  “Trust me.”

  * * *

  Seth had been watching the pattern of movement all day. The two-man patrols, the guards on the balcony on the roof, and those on the seventh floor. He had offered countless silent prayers asking for guidance as he contemplated his options. Finally, he was confident he could do what he needed to.

  Darkness had fallen, and Seth was now dressed in the same clothes he had been wearing when he first arrived—black pants and a black shirt—only now he was barefoot. Whoever was monitoring the surveillance cameras in the living area would have seen him and Vanessa retire to their separate bedrooms more than two hours earlier. Now he moved through the door onto the balcony and started his watch.

  The guard on the balcony below went through his usual ritual. He paced from one side of the balcony to the other before setting his weapon down and pulling out a cigarette. Seth took that as his cue to begin his descent. He found his first handhold and started down the side of the building. Dropping to the eighth floor was a simple feat, especially since the occupants of the eighth floor were nowhere to be seen.

  Then began the more complicated part of the journey: slipping down past the seventh-floor balcony without being seen by the guard. Quietly, steadily, Seth climbed lower. He let the night surround him, his movements nearly silent.

  Almost an hour passed before Seth’s feet finally touched the ground. He stood still for several long moments, identifying the location of the motion detectors before beginning to pick his way through the electronic security devices. He dropped to the ground, using the darkness as cover when he heard one of the patrols heading in his direction. They circled around the helicopter and then moved off across the expanse of lawn.

  Seth flexed his tense muscles, thinking wryly that Spiderman probably didn’t get so stiff after spending an hour stuck on a wall. As the guards moved away from him, Seth began moving forward again. His intended destination was the Z-10 helicopter on the pad beside the fortress. Although he would have preferred trying to transmit a message on an aircraft he was more familiar with, he doubted he could make it to the airfield and back in the amount of time he had without being spotted. Instead, he continued working his way toward the lone helicopter.

  After crossing the last few yards, he ducked beneath the Z-10 and checked the exterior for alarms. He found one and was quickly able to deactivate it. He then slipped into the cockpit, ducking down so that he wouldn’t be visible to anyone outside. Deciphering the communications equipment took a few minutes longer than Seth had anticipated, but he was finally able to make his years of experience working with various systems pay off.

  Piggybacking a signal so that it wouldn’t be picked up by Akil and his men was going to be tricky, but he was determined to do it. Nearly an hour later, Seth had coded two simple messages that would begin transmitting as soon as the helicopter’s engines were started. The first said simply, Target AZ power plants. The second message contained three more essential items. A date, a time, and a place.

  * * *

  “What’s their target?” Quinn asked with his usual impatience. Although Kel still wanted to go in after Seth as soon as possible, the higher-ups weren’t convinced that such a risky mission was in anyone’s best interest. Now the squad was faced with the dilemma of proving that Seth and Vanessa were really being held at the fortress and that the intelligence they were gathering was critical—no easy task, considering that they had been out of contact for days now.

  “With the intel Vanessa gave us through Seth while she was at La Playa, we should be able to narrow this down,” Amy insisted.

  Kel nodded, but his expression was grim. “Amy, get me everything you can on these surveillance grids along the border.” He then motioned to Tristan. “And I want you to see if you can get a lead on those helicopters. Someone has to know something about them.”

  “I’ll run an analysis on the movement in and out of Morenta’s villa. Maybe we can track the target that way,” Brent said.

  Kel nodded, his expression serious. “Pull whatever strings you have to. Seth’s already been under too long. It’s time to bring him home.”

  * * *

  The surveillance grids were a deep, dark mystery as far as Amy was concerned. She had tried uncovering information by working through her contacts in naval intelligence without any success. A friend at the FBI didn’t know anything about the grids either, and the message she had left for her contact at the CIA had yet to be returned.

  She knew that the Drug Enforcement Agency probably had a clue, but she didn’t have any solid contacts there or in the Department of Immigration. Instead of trying to finagle sensitive information out of people she didn’t know, she had finally resorted to asking the communications center on board to patch through a secure call to Senator James Whitmore, her father.

  “Hi, Dad,” Amy said as soon as his voice came over the line.

  “Amy?” His voice was both delighted and confused. “I didn’t realize you were back home.”

  “I’m not.” Amy hesitated a moment. “Look, I hate to ask, but I need a huge favor.”

  “It always worries me when you start a conversation with the words ‘I need a favor,’” Jim told her with humor in his voice. “What do you need?”

  “I need everything you’ve got on the new surveillance grids along the Mexican border,” Amy told him.

  Jim’s voice went from friendly to stunned. “How do you know about that? That information is strictly need-to-know.”

  “And I need to know,” Amy insisted. “Dad, you know I would never ask if it wasn’t important, but I have to find out if the grid is already operational and where it’s being operated from.”

  He was quiet for a moment. Then he asked, “Is this a subway problem?”

  Amy knew he was referring to the first time he had met the Saint Squad. They had been in the middle of a terrorist threat, one in which the intended target had been the Washington, DC, subway system. “Yeah, I think so.”

  “I’ll see what I can find out,” Jim told her. “But remember. This information stays need-to-know.”

  “I understand,” Amy assured him. After hanging up with her dad, she started to leave the comm room but was stopped by a commander.

  “I think you’d better see this.” He held up a single piece of paper.

  “What is it?” Amy reached out her hand. She read over the two lines and looked back up at him, confused. “Where did this come from?”

  “It was a coded message we picked up this morning.” He turned and pointed to a computer screen. “We never saw an aircraft come onto our radar, but we’re sure that’s where it came from. It was moving right along the coast of Nicaragua.”

  Amy’s smile was instant, and her eyes lit up with excitement. “This is exactly what I was looking fo
r.”

  23

  “What in the world were you trying to pull?” Vanessa fisted her hands on her hips and fought to keep her voice low. She had gotten up in the middle of the night to see if there was any new activity on the ground. Assuming Seth was in his room, she had nearly had a heart attack when she’d turned just in time to see him climb over the railing onto the balcony.

  When he appeared so suddenly, she’d assumed he had climbed up to the penthouse again. It wasn’t until they were eating lunch and he saw one of the helicopters land on the helicopter pad that he told her about the message he’d sent the night before. The realization that he could have gotten himself killed without her even knowing what he was up to pushed her already strained nerves into overdrive. “You could have been killed!”

  Seth blew out a breath and sat down in one of the wicker chairs on the balcony. He eased his weight down gradually as though he was worried that the chair wouldn’t be able to support his weight. After settling into his seat, he ran a hand over his face before looking up at Vanessa. “You know, the only real danger was that I just about had a heart attack when I saw you standing here.”

  Vanessa’s eyebrows lifted. “I thought you were trained to expect the unexpected.”

  “Honey, you could write the book about doing the unexpected,” Seth muttered with a shake of his head. “I don’t know what you’re so upset about. I told you I was going to send a message.”

  She stared at him in disbelief. She had known this man once, almost as well as she knew herself. Now she was faced with the reality of just how much he had changed over the past six years. Logically she knew what a SEAL was trained to do. Seeing Seth in action, however, was completely surreal. “Seth, you climbed down nine stories, past who knows how many armed guards. Surely you realize how dangerous that was.”

  “Now, there’s the pot calling the kettle black.” Seth pushed himself out of his seat, his voice taking on an edge as he stepped toward her. “You know, the only good thing about not knowing what you’ve been up to since I saw you last is the fact that I didn’t have to worry about where you’ve been this year.”