Travis sprinted through the open doorway and dove for cover behind a large couch in the great room. Twisting onto his back, he swung his weapon up toward the top of the stairs and fired a burst. One of the men tumbled forward, down the staircase. Another returned fire from the bridge, but came nowhere close to Travis, still blinded by the flash-bang. More gunfire came from the kitchen. Travis quickly slithered to the end of the couch, peered around it, and fired two quick shots. He swung the muzzle back up, sighted on the man on the bridge, and squeezed off a three-shot burst. The figure collapsed like a deflated balloon.
Someone let loose a volley from the dining room, bullets thudding softly into the stuffing of the couch. Travis heard return fire and saw the suppressed muzzle flash on the patio outside the smashed glass doors. Reinforcements.
He thumbed his throat mic. “Three upstairs, two of them out of action. Three downstairs.”
“We’ve got two downstairs located,” Fred said.
“That leaves two to find,” Travis said.
He heard gunfire coming from outside, which meant the others were tied up. He, Fred, and Barney would have to clear the house. The open study door caught his eye. He brought his knees up under him and coiled in a crouch.
“Lay down some cover fire, Fred,” Travis said. “On three. One, two, three!”
As Fred fired, Travis sprang to his feet and dashed across the open floor. As soon as he reached the cover of the study doorframe, he swung around and fired across the foyer at the shadow in the kitchen. The man went down without returning fire.
“Another down,” Travis muttered into his com unit.
A burst of gunfire came from the dining room, bullets thwacking loudly into the wall just inches away. Travis fell to the floor, heart racing. Too close. Lying on the hard floor, he leaned through the opening and fired toward the spot where the volley had come from. Fred fired at the same time from his position, creating a withering crossfire. But he couldn’t tell if they’d hit the man.
From the corner of his eye, Travis saw Barney slip through the shattered patio door and into the great room. He darted behind an easy chair, then pulled himself up onto one knee to get a better view into the dining area. He heard more gunfire from the woods outside, muffled, like kids playing with firecrackers.
Deadly firecrackers.
“Look out!” Barney shouted.
Travis twisted around and saw a dark figure emerging from the dark hall to his left, where the master bedroom lay. As the figure drew a bead on Travis, Barney fired and the man went down. Travis forced himself to breathe, heart hammering against his ribs.
He gave Barney a high sign and muttered into his mic, “Thanks. Okay, one left. Anyone have a lock on this guy?”
Fred moved inside in a crouch and shook his head. Barney did, too. Travis put his finger to his lips and listened intently in the silence. For interminable seconds, nothing.
Then he heard it.
A floorboard in one of the rooms above creaked. Travis silently pointed up and saw the other two nod. He sidled across the tiled entryway toward the stairs. Fred and Barney held their positions, both pairs of eyes trained on the top of the stairs. Travis rounded the banister at the base of the staircase and crept up the steps one at a time, careful not to make any noise. Halfway up, he moved toward the wall to avoid the body lying there, and one of the stairs groaned under his weight.
With a terrifying yell, a dark figure ran out of a dark bedroom onto the top landing and opened fire. Travis dropped to his stomach, arms extended, and pulled the trigger. The chatter of Fred and Barney’s weapons joined that of his own. The man above him jerked one way and then another like a scarecrow learning to dance as the hail of bullets cut him down.
Travis raced up the stairs, leaped over the body, and checked the bedroom on the left. Empty.
“Clear!” he shouted.
He heard an answering shout from one of the Bedrock buddies downstairs as he raced across the connecting bridge to the other bedroom. It, too, was empty.
“Clear!” he called again.
He ran down the stairs, meeting Fred and Barney at the bottom. They all looked at each other, puzzlement clear on their faces.
“Damn it!” Travis said. “Where are they?”
He thumbed his throat mic. “Red, I need the floor plans, pronto!”
CHAPTER 51
“Tess!” The voice carried over some distance.
Kenny stopped abruptly, and Tess nearly stumbled. The voice had called from maybe ten or twenty yards away, she guessed. Though familiar, she didn’t immediately recognize it.
“Are you all right?” the voice said.
“I got her, man,” Kenny said. “I was just getting her out of here, taking her back to the vehicles where she’ll be safe.”
“Yeah, okay,” the voice said, a little closer now. “That’s cool.”
“Let’s go,” Kenny muttered to Tess.
She felt him move and tried to match his pace so she wouldn’t fall.
“Hey! No, wait!” the voice called again. “What are you doing?”
Tess heard a note of concern in it this time.
“What are you talking about?” Kenny said loudly. “I told you, man, I’m taking her back to the vehicles.”
“No, wait! I see what you’re doing. I can’t let you get away with it, Kenny.”
“Get away with . . . ? What the—?”
A muffled shot rang out, and something wet spattered Tess’s cheek. Blood. She could smell it. Kenny grunted and fell away from her. She froze, heart leaping into her throat. She wanted to scream. Taking several deep breaths, she shoved aside the panic that threatened to overwhelm her. She would not freak. Not this time. Footsteps pounded toward her.
“Tess! Tess! Are you okay?”
The footsteps stopped in front of her and a little breath of air swirled past her, carrying a tropical scent like the coconut orchid Yoshi had brought to her room that morning.
Coconut. Marcus.
Her knees shook and almost gave way as it hit her with a wave of terror.
Marcus was the one who killed Helen.
She rarely missed a scent, and the one Marcus wore was the same one she’d smelled that day. Marcus was on the other side, not Kenny. And Marcus had just killed Kenny. They wanted to talk to her, though. Marcus wouldn’t kill her—not yet. She had to get a grip on herself, think it through.
“Who’s there?” she said, her voice quavering.
“It’s Marcus, Tess. Oh, you poor thing. You must be scared to death. I’m sorry, I had to do that right in front of you, but Kenny wasn’t who you thought he was. He wasn’t getting you out of danger. He was taking you right into the lion’s den. Are you okay?”
Tess shivered. Her fear was no act, but she couldn’t let on that she knew.
Keep it together, buy some time.
“I g-guess so,” she said. “I just want to go home.”
“That’s a great idea, Tess. Let me help you.”
You do that.
She let him take her arm, her thoughts racing.
If I scream, he’ll kill me for sure. But if I can get him to lead me back to the house, someone might help. If anyone’s still alive after all that shooting.
She listened. The shooting had stopped.
Maybe they’re all dead.
The silence was eerie. Then night sounds slowly returned to the forest, the river babbling over stones in its way, an owl hooting, the scurry of tiny feet through the brush as a small animal returned to its burrow.
“I . . . My purse,” she said. “I left it in the house. Could we get it first?”
“It’s not safe yet, Tess,” Marcus said. “Let me take you someplace safe first. I’ll go back and get it later, I promise.”
He was smooth, she had to hand it to him.
No wonder Uncle Travis hasn’t found out about him yet. Unless Uncle Travis . . .
No, she couldn’t even think it. Marcus was the bad guy. She felt it in her bones.
Hang on.
She went along with him, but pretended to have Jell-O legs from the shock, slowing him down. She wouldn’t make it easy for him. He pulled her a little more roughly, impatient.
“Ow!” Tess said. “You’re hurting me.”
“We have to get you out of here,” he said. “It’s not safe.”
“Okay,” she said in a small voice. “Just don’t be so rough.”
Make him think you’re weak. Wait for your chance.
Every step she took filled her with more dread as he took her away from the house—away from any help she might get.
You don’t need help. Remember what Yoshi taught you. You can overpower him.
Her brain worked furiously, thinking of all the ways in which she might incapacitate him if she got the chance. She would have to be patient. And maybe she could still make a break for it. Before he put her in a vehicle. On the road would be perfect, where the trees were close on either side and she could quickly get into the brush and hide.
You can do this.
She felt the rough, uneven terrain under her feet give way to the relative smoothness of the dirt road. She didn’t have much time now.
“Wait, stop,” she said, resisting his pull. “I think I have a stone in my shoe. It hurts.”
“Okay, okay. Just get it out.”
She heard the tension in his voice.
That’s good. He’s distracted.
She bent down and pretended to untie her shoe, visualizing how she would take him down. She let the anger simmer again, steeling her resolve.
Ready . . . set . . .
“Marcus!”
Above her, Marcus whirled. “Travis! I’ve got her. I found Tess!”
The lie came so easily to him that it was no wonder Travis didn’t know what a snake he was.
It doesn’t matter. I know.
Relief filled Tess. “Uncle Travis?” She stood and turned.
“Tess?” Travis scooped her up in a bear hug. “It’s over, Tess. God, I’m so glad you’re safe. I never would have forgiven myself if you’d been hurt.”
She put her arms around him, her cheek against his neck. It could all change in an instant, she knew, but for the first time in a year she actually felt safe. She clung to him, making the feeling last a moment longer before he set her down. But he didn’t let go. He still held her hand firmly.
“What gives, Marcus?” he said.
Tess heard the anger in his voice.
“Hey, I was just trying to get her out of the field of fire.”
When Kenny had said it, she had believed him. She knew Marcus was full of crap, but she didn’t let on.
“What’s the matter?” Travis said. “Is your com unit broken? Why didn’t you call it in?”
“Sounded like you guys were in the middle of a firefight.”
“You should have told me you found her.” He paused. “Where’s Kenny?”
“He’s dead,” Marcus said. “Sorry to be the one to have to tell you this, Trav, but Kenny was a mole. I caught him trying to take Tess. He had a gun to her head. I had no choice.”
The fury inside Tess threatened to burst out of her in a white-hot explosion. She clenched her jaw and tipped her face toward the ground.
“Damn!” Travis swore softly. “I hoped it wouldn’t come to that. I’m sure you did what you had to, Marcus. I’m just glad Tess is safe.”
“Uncle Travis?” she interrupted. “Someone needs to check on Oliver.”
“Where is he?”
“In the woods. Near the tunnel entrance. I . . . I’m not sure . . . He might be dead.”
“I’ll get someone on it, Tess. I’m sure he’ll be fine. Marcus, get out on the road and make sure no one gets in here. We’ve got a hell of a mess to clean up. I’ll send Luis out to go through their vehicles and see if he can find out who hired these goons. He can relieve you after that. Tess, you’re coming with me. I don’t want you out of my sight for the time being.”
Instinctively, her hackles rose. She was tired of being told what to do. Just as quickly, though, she realized that for the first time since Travis had taken over as her guardian, Tess didn’t mind his overprotectiveness.
CHAPTER 52
Travis quickly assessed the situation. Nine dead altogether, only one from Travis’s team—Kenny. Besides Kenny, Travis’s team had experienced only two casualties. Barney had gotten a flesh wound in the firefight inside the house, and then there was Oliver.
If Marcus is right, Kenny hadn’t been part of the team after all.
At least four of the attackers had escaped into the woods, including the sentry that Travis had choked unconscious. As much as Travis hated loose ends, part of him was glad that at least some of them hadn’t died.
Such a waste.
He quickly issued orders, dispatching Luis to check on the vehicles and make sure those who’d escaped didn’t try to sabotage the team’s rides. He sent Fred and Barney out to find Oliver and retrieve Kenny’s body. Red offered to bring in the other casualties. Travis felt he should go, too, but when Red glanced silently at Tess, Travis nodded, grateful. While the others started in on their assignments, Travis called Jack again, stepping onto the patio to keep Tess from listening in.
“Sorry to wake you, sir.”
“I’m still up,” Turnbull said. “Couldn’t sleep after your last call.”
“It’s over,” Travis said. “At least for now.”
He briskly recapped what had happened, relaying the news that it looked as if Kenny had been the inside man.
“That could explain a lot,” the general said.
“It could . . ” Travis said slowly.
“You’re not convinced.”
“I had my suspicions about Kenny,” Travis paused. “It’s Marcus’s call. He was there. I wasn’t. If he says he had to take Kenny out, he must have had a reason. And I’ve always been able to trust Marcus.”
The general was silent for a moment. “So, where does this leave us?”
“If your offer’s still on the table, Jack, I’ll take you up on it. No one’s come nosing around yet, and I posted Marcus on the road in, just in case. We’ve got nine dead. It’s a mess.”
“I’ll send up the same forensic team we used before. They’ll be there within two hours. What else?”
“Tess uploaded the last file before we got here. We were too late, but so were the others.”
“If only we knew who ‘the others’ were.”
“Fred and Barney recognized a couple of them, sir. Hard core mercs that the boys say have seen action in places where no sane soldier would go. Fred said he heard rumors that both of them were involved in the theft of those Stinger missiles a few years ago.”
“That’s bad news, Travis. It confirms my worst fears. It means the world’s most notorious arms cartel is after your little toy. Have you figured out what these software files actually do?”
“We think they’re an intelligent kill command.”
“That someone can use remotely to sabotage the prototype?”
“Yes,” Travis admitted.
The line went quiet.
“The good news, sir,” Travis went on, “is that I have someone who can crack the worm problem. I think we’ll have the prototype up and running again well before the deadline.”
“Well, that’s something, at least.”
“I trust you’ll keep this between us, Jack. No need to tell Senator Latham about the files.”
“I suppose not, since we don’t really know what they are. Or who Tess sent them to.”
“I have some ideas, sir.”
“Oh? Care to share?”
“Not yet. I’ll let you know when I do.”
“All right. Good work tonight, son. Tess is okay?”
Travis glanced inside at his niece’s silhouette, sitting on a couch in the dark. “She’s tougher than I thought, Jack.”
“She’s a Barrett, son.”
With that, the general disconnected
. Travis turned and walked back inside to be with his niece until his men returned. It was time to tell her everything.
Well, almost everything. She deserves that. Hell, she’s earned it.
CHAPTER 53
I dreamed that huge hands reached down through the darkness and lifted me in the air. They carried me somewhere, and though the ride was bumpy, it was not as uncomfortable as the cold, damp ground I’d lain on until they found me. Before I could make out where we were going, the world went black again.
I don’t know how much time passed until I woke. I sensed a rocking motion again, but no one carried me this time. I gradually became aware of a smooth, pliable surface beneath my cheek. Leather. The same material hovered in front of my eyes, just inches away. When it started to spin, I closed my eyes again. A car. The BMW. Voices drifted over the seat backs. I concentrated, trying to hear the words. The effort hurt my head, and slowly I became aware of pain located elsewhere, too. Ribs ached with each breath. The top side of my face felt as if it had encountered a brick wall at high speed. One lip had ballooned up to the size of a sausage. I opened my eyes again to discover that the left one was actually swollen shut.
The words coming from the front seat sounded like some foreign language. I frowned. The voices were familiar, one high-pitched and female, the other definitely male. The man called the woman by name. Tess. Sure. Tess and Travis. And me. All in the BMW, headed home. I smiled. Still dreaming, I decided, but I was alive. That was a start. A school of questions swam through my head, flashing by too quickly to hook. None of them seemed big enough to be keepers anyway. My eyelids drooped and closed of their own accord, too heavy to keep open.
So tired.
The black void welcomed me back with open arms.
CHAPTER 54
The steady hum of the engine and the monotonous black night outside the windows lulled Tess into a torpor. The car was warm and comfortable, but she fought off the urge to sleep. She could do that once they got home. Home. It felt like weeks since she’d been there, and she was eager to get back. That she didn’t dread it—the rooms with all their memories, the thought of school and the challenges she faced there—surprised her.
Blind Rage Page 35
