by Lisa Pietsch
“Guilt isn’t a productive emotion. When you stay in this sort of business long enough, you learn to shut it off.” He handed Sarah the Margarita. “Nikolai speaks the international language of money. He wants something only Vince can give him, probably you, and that means he’ll keep Vince alive and happy. Trust me, living with his ex-wife was more threatening than a few days with the Russian will be.”
Sarah remembered her own experience with Vince’s ex-wife, commonly referred to by her teammates as “The Hell Bitch.” She nodded slightly. “You could be right.”
“It’s been known to happen.” Jason smiled like a Cheshire cat. “Sarah, we can’t do a damned thing until Brian and Chris get here so you’ve got a full eight hours to get foggy and clear up again.” His voice dropped an octave and seemed more commanding than friendly. “Sit down and have a frigging drink, woman.”
Sarah sighed and followed orders. Jason rarely gave them, but, when he did, she knew it was in her best interest to pay attention. “Okay.” She parked herself on the leopard print sofa and sipped the cold, tart beverage.
“You know what I love about the Middle East?”
Sarah watched Jason as he took a seat beside her and swallowed half his drink in one gulp. “The dry heat?”
He glared at her. “Hell no. It’s humid most places except the Rub’ al Kali. What I love is the fact that smoking is still accepted and non-smoking hotel rooms are the exception.” He slipped two cigarettes out of his pack and lit them at the same time, handing her one of them.
She recalled the cigarette she’d taken from her case earlier and looked into her hand to see the tragic remains in her sweaty palm.
Some secret agent I am. Can’t even handle a little job-related stress.
Jason chortled as he wiped the tobacco mess from her hand into his. “Now what the hell did that cigarette ever do to you to be treated like that?” He dusted the tobacco and paper into a nearby potted plant.
Sarah took a drink of her margarita and a drag from the new cigarette and smiled weakly at Jason. “I’m a mess, aren’t I?”
He nodded. “You’re new to this. You didn’t train to be on the waiting end. You trained to be Action Girl. You’re all tensed and ready for a fight but, it isn’t going to happen today and probably won’t even happen tomorrow.”
Sarah set her drink on the table in front of her, leaned back, and closed her eyes. She wished this were all a dream and she’d wake up in Italy to Vince bringing her coffee in bed. A low groan escaped her lips.
“Sarah, you trust me, right?” He picked up her glass and nodded for her to drink more.
“Of course, I do, Jason.” She took a sip of her drink while she listened.
“I’m gonna tell you a little something, and I hope you’ll pay attention.”
She turned to face him. “Okay, shoot.”
“That adrenaline high you’re on isn’t going to last. It’s a short-term drug and when it runs out, you’re gonna crash. You’ll crash hard just like you did after we got back from that first mission against Hassan. Remember all the adrenaline you rode to get yourself and Vince off that yacht when Hassan found out who you were? And do you remember how long you slept afterwards?”
Sarah recalled their first mission. Hassan was a major moneyman for Al Qaeda, and he had been hot for her. She’d had a great cover as his girlfriend, and Vince as an arms dealer until Hassan figured out that Vince wasn’t just an arms dealer. She managed to save Vince from execution on Hassan’s yacht, but she blew her cover in the process. Hassan tried to use her as leverage against Vince but ended up shooting Vince instead. Sarah had just enough time to stab Hassan in the heart, grab Vince, and jump off the yacht before it exploded. She never would have been able to lift a big, muscular guy like Vince without the assistance of adrenaline, and lots of it. “Oh, yeah. I slept for two and a half days. I woke up hungry as a bear.”
Jason took a last, hard drag and stubbed his cigarette out in the crystal ashtray. “That adrenaline sucks every bit of energy out of you. You need to conserve that energy until we know what we’re up against. Save it. Relax, have a few drinks, and then get some rest so you’re fresh when Chris and Brian get here.” He drank the last of his margarita and set the glass on the table in front of the sofa. “Then we can take stock and get this operation going.”
She nodded and took a long drink, collecting what thoughts she could. “Jason, how can you be so calm? We declared war on Nikolai’s organization when we smoked his top arms dealer. Now he’s kidnapped Vince and God only knows what he’ll do to him to get back at us. Every minute we waste could be Vince’s last.”
Jason chuckled and shook his head. “It doesn’t work that way, girl. This sort of thing is a dance. Vince has been doing what he does for a long time. Force Recon guys train to operate behind enemy lines. They prepare for capture. It’s a whole different world from what you’ve done, but he knows all the moves. He’s a master at tricks and mind games.” Jason leaned back into the sofa and grinned wide. “Trust me, Vince is king of the mind fuck. If Nikolai knows anything about Vince, or us, then he knows he’s sitting on a gold mine of intelligence. He’ll keep Vince healthy and alive unless Vince does something stupid.” Jason lit a fresh cigarette. “And Vince is one guy who never does anything stupid.”
~~~
Will walked into the sitting room and found Jason with his feet on the plush sofa and a satisfied grin on his face.
“Where’s Sarah?”
Jason took a drag of his cigarette, blew a smoke ring, and pointed to the empty pitcher on a silver platter nearby. “Adrenaline crash plus tequila makes for a sleepy Sarah.”
Will shook his head. “I gotta hand it to you brother, for a guy who doesn’t know jack about women, you handle that particular woman pretty well.”
“What can I say?” Jason shrugged. “It’s a gift. Besides, she thinks more like a guy than a woman. Where did you get on the phone calls?”
Will sat on the sofa and took his first look at the view they had from high above the ocean. “My God, this place is spectacular.”
“It’s fucking awesome. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Will looked over at Jason who was waiting for news on Will’s calls. “You know the work Vince and I did allowed us to put a few nest eggs away, right?”
“Yeah.” Jason knew Vince and Will had skimmed a little off the top for insurance when they negotiated arms deals for the U.S. government. It was the only way agents could cover their asses when working for a bunch of bureaucrats who might turn around and screw them without a moment’s hesitation, just like Vince was being screwed right now. That insurance was money they needed to fall back on now because the Agency had disavowed any association with Vince and refused to send in a rescue team when he’d been kidnapped. The C.I.A. didn’t give a damn that it was their bad intel that left an opening for Nikolai Federov, the man they should have been after in their last mission, to get away.
Will continued speaking in generalities just in case their stealthy butler happened to walk in on their conversation. Their plan was to act like real estate investors while in the hotel.
“Well, I called my banker here in Dubai, and we have a practically unlimited budget for any purchases we choose to make.”
Jason smiled wide. “Excellent.”
“I also made a call to a buddy of mine in Las Vegas. Nikolai’s mother lives there, and I thought she might help negotiations.”
Jason leaned forward. “Yeah? What happened?”
“Official word at the University is she’s taken a leave of absence for a family emergency back in Russia.”
“Family emergency. You bet your babka it’s an emergency. There’s no chance of getting to her there. I’ve got to hand it to that guy, he knows how to cover his bases.”
“Hey, it was worth a shot.” Will yawned and loosened his tie. “I’m going to catch a nap before the guys get here. What room did Sarah take?”
“She took one of the kings ups
tairs. I’ll just nap down here if you want the other king bed and then Brian and Chris can have the twins.”
Will smiled and slapped Jason on the shoulder. “You saved the day with Sarah and now you’re taking one for the team by sleeping on a plush sofa overlooking the Arabian Gulf. You’re a noble man.”
“Yeah, it’s all good. Too much luxury makes me nervous. Sleeping on one of those ultra pillow-top beds might just throw me into convulsions.”
Will chuckled and shook his head. “You’d still be more comfortable in a foxhole or a bird’s nest, wouldn’t you?”
Jason stretched out on the sofa and laced his fingers together behind his neck. “You’ve got that right.”
Chapter Five
“Lucy, I’m home!”
Sarah had never been so happy to hear Brian’s voice. She scrambled out of her room and to the top of the golden staircase to see Brian Allen and Chris Wilson, looking fresh as daisies in designer suits, standing in the elegant marble entryway. She leaned on the railing and smiled down at them.
Brian and Chris standing side by side covered just about every woman’s fantasy.
Brian stood well over six feet, had a well-muscled physique and not one ounce of body fat. His dark brown hair and eyes and tanned, chiseled features made him look about as exotic as you can get for a guy who grew up in Texas. After fifteen years as a Navy SEAL, Brian had been recruited to the C.I.A.’s Special Activities Division for his combat experience and knowledge of all things explosive. Brian’s special gift was being able to pick up the hottest woman in any room, love her, leave her, and still remain friends.
Sarah responded in kind. “That’s good ‘cuz someone’s got some ‘splainin’ to do.”
Chris grinned up at her. He stood just short of six feet and, on casual days, looked the part of a surfer. Dressed in Armani, he was a blond-haired, blue-eyed hunk of hotness. He could sweet talk a woman in seven languages other than English while he did a background check so comprehensive he’d know how many times a day her bowels moved.
Whenever Sarah went undercover, Chris’ was the voice in her miniscule earpiece, keeping in constant contact with her, twenty-four seven. Consequently, he also knew the details of her sex life and bowels, something that took Sarah a little getting used to, but Chris, the team’s communications expert, was nothing if not discreet.
Brian looked up at Sarah. “Well, hey, darlin’.” His face dropped. “You look like shit.”
She let the comment roll off her back. If Brian said it, it was probably true. He never minced words. “I thought you guys would never get here.” Sarah walked down the stairs and greeted them both with hugs.
Chris held her at arm’s length and looked her over. “How are you doing? How’s the shoulder? Still much pain?”
“I’m okay.” She demonstrated by rolling her shoulder with only a hint of pain. “I’m glad to be out of the sling. Accessorizing an outfit while wearing a sling is like putting paint on shit. It still looks like shit.” She turned to Brian. “I’m ready to kick somebody’s ass though.”
Brian wrapped his arm around Sarah’s waist and they walked into the sitting room. “Well, now you know how we feel when we’re waiting to pull you out of an operation. I don’t know what you’re getting so riled up about. This ain’t nothin’ but another mission, darlin’.”
Chris nodded in agreement as he scanned the area for electronic listening devices. The Burj al Arab was well known for its discretion and having bugs in the suites would be a disaster for business. But Chris was the best at what he did and nobody on the team questioned his desire to ensure operational security.
Sarah stopped, looked at Brian, and suddenly saw things from their point of view. “How do you do it?”
Brian wrinkled his brow. “Do what?”
“Act like it’s no big thing and stay so cool.”
“Well, first of all, we’re all very cool to begin with.” He nodded a hello to Will who strolled into the room with his signature smile and sparkling blue eyes. “We’ve all had years of operational experience so, no matter what happens, we’ve probably seen worse. Each of us has a different way of keeping a cap on the stress. I lift a few more weights, Will cooks a lot and writes lists,” Will rolled his eyes as he looked down at the legal pad in his hand, “Jason smokes like a chimney and cleans his guns, Vince plans the attack and several hundred contingency plans, and Chris reads thrillers and hacks into satellites.”
Chris shrugged. “In all fairness, Sarah doesn’t spend all her time talking when she’s undercover. I can’t just listen to dead air all the time.”
Brian stood a good eight inches over Sarah and looked down at her. “Let me guess, you’ve been having some trouble with the waiting?”
Sarah frowned, disappointed in her inability to just roll with the situation like the rest of them seemed to do. “Yeah, a little.”
“All right.” Brian smiled at her with a combination of pity and simple indulgence. He held her hands firmly so she couldn’t continue fidgeting. “How ‘bout you fix us some drinks while we clean up and then we’ll talk about this? We can’t have our best girl gettin’ all nervous on us, can we?”
Sarah walked into the main salon while Brian and Chris climbed the stairs to the bedrooms. She caught a glimpse of herself in one of the gold framed mirrors and realized Brian hadn’t been kidding. She ran her fingers through her hair and tried to look a little less frazzled. She poured two glasses of Scotch for Brian and Chris and paced the floor in front of the massive, wall-sized window overlooking the Arabian Gulf.
Chris strolled into the room and gave Sarah a hug. “No offense, doll, but you’ve looked better. I know you’ve been through a lot but remember your cover. You’re a real estate investor. You’re loaded and the real estate market here has gone bust. You’re about to purchase crown jewels at bargain-basement prices. This is a shopper’s dream. You should look a little more, uh, happy.”
Sarah’s cheeks warmed with embarrassment. She took a step back and blinked hard as she considered Chris’ words. “You’re right. I need to bring my A-game and I’m looking C-minus at best.”
Chris shrugged. “I didn’t say that, but now that you mention it, a C-minus is generous.”
Brian’s voice boomed as he skipped down the stairs two at a time. “You got that right, darlin!” He held his arms out. “What’s next? You gonna come crawlin down here in sweats and eating pints of ice cream?”
Sarah winced at the thought.
Brian wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her on the cheek. “Where’s that drink you promised me?”
Sarah handed them their Scotch as Jason strolled into the room and pointed to the amber liquid. “Can I have one of those?”
Sarah nodded, happy to have something to do, even if it was tending bar. “Just remember to tip your waitress.”
Brian greeted Jason with their usual half hug. “Great timing, man. We’re just about to have a chat with Sarah about how the other half, meaning us, lives.”
Jason rubbed the back of his muscled neck with his free hand. “Good.” He took the crystal glass Sarah offered. “I tried to explain that earlier but she was a little jetlagged. I don’t think she absorbed it all.”
Brian lounged in one of the overstuffed chairs and casually crossed his left ankle over his right knee. He took a sip and savored it, closing his eyes and pausing for a moment before swallowing. “Mm…good stuff. God forbid you should get top shelf liquor on a commercial flight nowadays. Private jets have ruined me for all other means of travel.”
In the interest of speed and anonymity, Chris and Brian had booked commercial flights instead of the usual private jet provided by the C.I.A. Sarah chided herself for fretting about how long they took to arrive when she considered that they had been flying coach or stuck in airports for the past twenty-four hours.
Brian turned his brown eyes to Sarah. He looked kindly on her as he spoke. “Okay, you haven’t worked this end of a deal before so it’s only natural
for you to feel a little out of your element. You’re usually sunning on a yacht or at a mansion somewhere while we do all the waiting, sweating and background work.”
Sarah knew he was right and couldn’t argue. She gave a weak smile in acknowledgement as Brian continued.
“Working this side of an operation requires patience. There’s a lot you can learn on this end, but you need to stay on your toes and out of your insecurities so you can observe everything we do with a clear head. We need you working with us here. If you’re tense and stressed, you won’t be any good to us and you’ll just slow us down. If that’s the case, we might as well send you back now. You don’t want to put us in that position, do you?”
Hard words but the professional in her knew he was right.
Chapter Six
Vince opened his eyes and blinked several times.
What the hell are they using to knock me out?
The room was pitch black, cool, and dry. No sounds from the outside. He sat up. There was a cot under him.
No mattress, no blanket. Thanks for nothing.
He ran his hand over the hair that had grown out on his usually shaved head. “I’ve got to stop waking up hung over in strange places.” The sound of his own voice was something of a comfort in captivity.
He reached out to feel around him.
Concrete floor. Concrete wall.
He stood and reached toward the ceiling. It was only a few inches taller than he was.
At least I can stand and stretch my legs.
He felt his way around the perimeter of the room, pacing off the length and width.
Six feet wide and eight feet long. All concrete. Must be a storage room.
When he reached the door, he traced it with his fingertips.
No hinges. No doorknob. Opens from the outside.
He kicked the door a few times to test it for weakness.
Solid wood. I won’t be able to break through it.
