Next Exit, Pay Toll

by CW Browning

  “You and I both know that particular danger has never stopped me in the past,” Blake retorted, swallowing and setting down the food container. He picked up his beer and settled back on his stool comfortably.

  “Tell me what I need to know.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Alina settled down on the couch in the living room, two laptops open on the coffee table before her. She tried to ignore the silence of the cabin as she plugged Billy Conners' external hard-drive into one of the laptops. Ever since she stepped foot back inside the cabin, the feeling of guilt and loneliness had been almost overwhelming. Alina had tried to ignore it then, as she was trying to ignore it now, but it seemed to be screaming accusingly from every corner of the small cabin. Raven had met her in the yard and she could hear him now, opening the window upstairs to come inside. Even his comforting presence wasn't soothing her unrest.

  Hawk was in Peru.

  She had betrayed his trust in her, ruthlessly drugging him and relocating him to the one country where she knew he had contacts who could conceal him. It was where his handler already thought he was, and it was where she knew he would be safe until this was all over.

  Alina sat back on the couch, staring blindly at the empty fireplace. When her source in Egypt contacted her last night, Alina came into the living room expecting to find out information about the mystery woman in the photo with Alex Ludmere. She hadn't expected to learn that Hawk had joined her on the Most Wanted list.

  Viper's eyes narrowed and her lips tightened into a grim line. As Damon had showered obliviously upstairs, her contact told Alina of the bounty that went out, not through the normal government channels, but through the underground. Mercenaries, assassins, and agents alike were informed of the price on Hawk's head, winner takes all.

  Alina got up restlessly and went into the kitchen to get one of the beers Damon had brought into the house. Popping the cap off, she headed back into the living room, filled with an intense longing to see him lounging on the couch with a beer of his own. She pushed the feeling aside impatiently and strode around the living room aimlessly, filled with restless energy.

  When Regina couldn't draw Viper out with Stephanie, she turned to the only other person she knew Viper would give her life to protect. Alina sipped the beer, pausing next to the empty fireplace and staring down at the cold stone. She was willing to bet anything that Regina had gone after Hawk out of pure spite. Alina remembered how Regina had followed Damon around in training camp. After learning from Billy just what kind of woman she was, Alina realized that Damon was probably the reason that Regina had attacked her in training that day so long ago.

  She turned to continue her restless loop around the living room. When her contact had finished telling her about the exorbitant price on Hawk's head, Viper had been furious; furious enough to do whatever it took to get Hawk out of harm's way and finish Lani Cunningham, aka Regina Cummings, once and for all.

  Unfortunately, it took drugging Damon to get him out of the country.

  Viper knew without a doubt that Hawk would never leave voluntarily. She had called Harry while Damon was still in the shower, quickly telling him everything she had learned. Between the two of them, they came up with the only plan they could think of to get Hawk to safety immediately.

  Alina sighed heavily and went back to the couch, suddenly exhausted. Damon would be absolutely furious when he found out what she'd done. Harry seemed to think that he would get over the anger, but Alina wasn't so sure. She knew how she would feel if the situation were reversed. If Hawk ever drugged her, she would bloody well kill him.

  Sinking back down onto the couch, Alina took another sip of beer and set the bottle down. Pushing aside her thoughts, she turned her attention to the laptop and Billy's hard-drive. It didn't take her any time at all to get through the standard security password that Billy had on the drive and within minutes, Viper was staring at a number of folders, all labeled by month and year, starting with the beginning of Billy's employment with Morganston Security.

  Alina started at the beginning, clicking open the folders and examining the files inside. Billy had been thorough in his documentation. There were text files, media files consisting of both video and audio clips, scanned documents, photos, and even GPS tracking in some files. With each file, Billy had included the times and dates of each job, and the bank deposit slip with each cash payment paid by Morganston Security. While Viper appreciated his attention to every detail, she had only gone through three months worth of files before she was feeling sick.

  Nothing was off-limits to the woman. Man, woman or child, Regina had no compunction about torturing, mutilating and murdering anyone who she perceived as being in her way. In Billy, she had found the perfect accomplice. Regina told him what she wanted to happen, Billy enjoyed doing it, and then got paid for the pleasure.

  As the shadows outside deepened, Alina read through the files, looking at the pictures and listening to the media files. Viper was a killer, and she had seen and done things that would haunt her until the day she died, but her disgust grew with each file she clicked open. Where she had been trained to kill for a purpose, these two monsters had killed for the sheer enjoyment of it. While she had been hunting down terrorists and insurgents all over the globe, these two had been hunting down and torturing innocent people stateside under the protection of the office of the Vice President of the United States.

  When Alina reached the file with the wife Billy had bragged to her about, she picked up her forgotten beer and drained it. The photos sickened her. The woman had been a gorgeous blonde, young and fresh-faced, and visibly pregnant at the time of Billy's attack. Billy's cash deposit the following day was a mere five hundred dollars. Two lives for the bargain price of five hundred dollars.

  Alina felt bile starting to rise in her throat. She got up to take the empty bottle into the kitchen and took some deep, cleansing breaths. She wished now that she had slit Billy's throat when she had it in her hands.

  She got a cold bottle of water out of the fridge and took a long drink before turning to head back into the living room. Whether she liked it or not, she had to finish going through all the files. She had to find the proof that Regina had brought a terrorist into the country.

  Without it, Viper couldn't kill the monster.

  Blake stared at Michael, the Chinese food forgotten, while Michael sipped his beer and patiently waited for his friend to process it all. Michael had told him everything, from his search for the notorious Viper to his investigation into The Engineer. He told Blake about the funding discrepancies he had found last night, and the information Ori had sent him. Michael held nothing back, pausing every so often to make sure Blake wanted him to continue. He started with his introduction to Viper in the parking garage at work, and had finished up with his realization this afternoon that Viper and his dinner guest on Saturday were one and the same.

  “Let me get this straight.” Blake finally broke his stunned silence. “Let me just make sure I'm understanding you correctly.”

  Michael's lips twitched as Blake picked up his beer, draining what was left in one swallow. He set the empty bottle down and took a deep breath.

  “Someone in Washington, someone on Capitol Hill, diverted substantial anti-terrorist funding in order to bring Johann Topamari, leader of Mossavid, into the country three months ago. He was paid to commit what would have been the biggest terrorist attack on US soil since 9/11, instantly guaranteeing Congressional approval for additional funding. That same person, at the same time, also paid an international assassin to come into the country and kill Johann after he had done his job.”

  Blake paused, looking at Michael. Michael nodded and Blake shook his head slightly in disbelief.

  “So, now we have a terrorist and an assassin, just hanging out in New Jersey, when Viper, our own government assassin, shows up to save the day,” Blake continued.

  Michael grinned and nodded again when Blake glanced at him. Shaking his head again, Blake got up t
o prowl around the garage while he talked.

  “After saving the day, Viper disappears. Now the person in Washington who started all this is spooked. They don't know if Viper knows they're responsible for everything or not. So, they need to find her to see what she knows,” Blake went on.

  Michael held up his hand and Blake stopped, looking at him.

  “That part is conjecture on my part,” Michael said. “I'm just assuming that's where the manhunt for Viper started. For all I know, Viper could have known all along who the person responsible was, why they were doing it, and how they were doing it. That person could have known that she knew. Maybe Viper wasn't supposed to succeed three months ago. Maybe they expected her to get killed by either Johann or the Engineer.”

  “The odds were certainly not in her favor,” Blake agreed thoughtfully.

  He and Michael were silent for a moment, both thinking.

  “Let's say, just for the sake of argument, that Viper was sent after Johann by the same person who brought him into the country,” Michael suggested. Blake scoffed.

  “Why would they risk her finding him and stopping him?” he demanded.

  Michael was staring at the far wall of the garage thoughtfully.

  “Because they brought in the best assassin money could buy,” he said slowly. Blake's eyebrows soared into his forehead as he followed Michael's train of thought. “They brought in someone with a one hundred percent success rate.”

  “I follow you,” Blake said. “Bring in the assassin to take care of both the terrorist and the agent who might be able to blow the lid off the whole thing.”

  Michael nodded. He thought for a moment, then shook his head.

  “Viper had to have known something about who was doing this before going into Jersey,” he said. “That's the only way that makes sense. They wouldn't bring her in without already having a reason to want her dead.”

  “She knew something all right,” Blake agreed with a nod.

  He and Michael stared at each other.

  “Well, damn it! Viper's not the bad guy here. She's the victim!” Blake finally exclaimed. Michael nodded.

  “Yep,” he agreed.

  Blake sighed loudly and ran his hand through his hair.

  “Ok. Let's leave that for a minute and go back to this past weekend,” he said, resuming his trek around the garage.

  Michael turned on his stool to watch him, glad to have someone else doing the pacing for a change.

  “So the whole world and his dog is looking for Viper, including you. Meanwhile, she's right here the whole time, waiting. She finally approaches you and tips you off to the Engineer.” Blake paused thoughtfully. “We can only assume she did that so that you would start investigating and find out who brought him into the country. She needed another person to know what she knew, someone who could find the money trail without drawing questions.”

  “At least now I know why she picked me.” Michael felt his temper starting to simmer again. “Who better to help her than her brother's old Marine buddy, who already swore that he would watch out for her?”

  Blake glanced at him.

  “Yes, well, we'll get to that later,” he said hastily. “Calm your britches, gunny, and save the fire for the enemy.”

  Michael grinned reluctantly and nodded. Blake continued on.

  “After getting you to focus on what was really going on, what did she do next? I don't see her trying to blow up Stephanie Walker's car. Where does Stephanie Walker fit into this? What am I missing?”

  “Viper saved Stephanie Walker's life on Three Mile Island,” Michael told him. Blake swung around to stare at him and Michael shrugged. “That's what Ms. Walker told me on Saturday morning in my office.”

  “You could have told me that,” Blake muttered with a frown and Michael shrugged.

  “Sorry. I forgot,” he retorted.

  “Well, that just makes everything more confused,” Blake complained. “If Viper saved Stephanie's life three months ago, she's hardly going to plant a bomb in her car now, is she?”

  “That's why I don't think Viper had anything to do with the car bomb,” Michael said.

  Blake glanced at him.

  “But you think she was there,” he stated rather than asked. Michael nodded.

  “Here's what I think happened,” he said, taking over the commentary. “I think somehow Ms. Walker managed to get herself involved with this whole mess. I think she got some time off, came down here to try to find some answers herself, and became a target. Viper found out Ms. Walker had become a target because she was with me when I found out.”

  Michael paused for a moment, finishing his beer.

  “That's why Stephanie disappeared!” Blake interjected before Michael could continue. “Viper probably has her squirreled away somewhere safe.”

  “I think Ms. Walker was probably bait to bring Viper out into the open,” Michael said, setting his empty bottle on the tarp. Blake nodded thoughtfully.

  “Once Stephanie showed up, they probably thought they could kill two birds with one stone,” he said slowly. “Viper gets Stephanie out of the way, but in the meantime, the people try again by planting a car bomb in Stephanie's car.” He stopped and looked at Michael helplessly. “I'm still not seeing where Viper plays into that.”

  “I don't know,” Michael admitted, shaking his head. “Maybe she was there to get the car?”

  As soon as the words left his mouth, Michael knew he was right. He looked at Blake and saw the same glint of comprehension in his eyes.

  “If she went to get the car, she wouldn't want the camera's to pick her up,” Blake said slowly and Michael nodded.

  “Everything happened so fast, she wouldn't have had time to hack the camera's, so she just shot them out,” he added.

  “She shoots out the cameras, hits the remote starter, and boom,” Blake finished.

  Michael ran a hand through his hair and they were both silent for several minutes, thinking.

  “That's thin,” he finally admitted.

  “It's very thin,” Blake agreed, a grin starting to spread across his face. Michael shared his grin.

  “I think that's exactly what happened,” he told him and Blake nodded in agreement.

  “Yep.” Blake continued pacing. “You're her alibi for the SEAL,” he said, his mind moving on. “You saw her in the hallway when the shots came from the road. There's no disputing that. And, the bullet that killed Billy is a match to the ones that killed the SEAL, so by default, she's in the clear on that as well.”

  “Which brings us back to the person responsible for everything,” Michael said.

  Blake looked at him.

  “Do you have any ideas?” he asked. Michael shook his head.

  “I know it's someone on the Hill,” he answered. “That's all I know.”

  “Well, we're going to need more than that to clear your buddy's kid sister,” Blake muttered and Michael got up impatiently.

  “I know,” he agreed. “I'm getting another beer.”

  “Grab me one too,” Blake said, stretching. “If I'd known this was going to turn into a brainstorming session, I would have brought vodka.”

  Michael grinned as he headed out of the garage.

  “Look on the bright side! If we can sort this all out, we can make ourselves look good in the wake of what's going to be the biggest embarrassment either of our agencies have seen in a long time,” he said over his shoulder. Blake snorted.

  “I'll settle for just catching the bastard responsible for all this,” he retorted.

  Regina set the phone down and tapped her long red nails on her desk absently, a frown creasing her lips as she stared at the desk, lost in thought.

  Harry, that meddlesome old fart from Homeland Security, had gone to Peru suddenly last night. Her spy had just confirmed it. Now why on earth would Harry take off to Peru in the middle of the night unexpectedly?

  Harry had been a thorn in her side for the past two years. His dark eyes saw much more than they wer
e supposed to, and he had connections out the whazoo all over this town. He was one of the old-school relics, left over from the cold war, and one of the more dangerous men in Washington. Alex had warned her repeatedly to steer clear of Harry, Homeland Security, and the CIA. Those were his areas of expertise and he would handle them. Regina had done as he asked, watching helplessly as Harry became more and more suspicious of them. Alex didn't seem to be capable of handling Harry, but she knew better than to suggest anything of the kind to the Vice President. Regina planted her own spy in DHS six months ago, and now was glad she had.

  What made Harry go tearing off to Peru?

  Regina opened her desk drawer and pulled out a big bottle of antacids. If Harry was suddenly mobilizing, there had to be a damn good reason. He didn't just take off anymore, and he certainly didn't do it on a private jet with no flight plan logged until it was taking off.

  She popped a handful of antacids in her mouth and reached for the phone again. Someone had to know.

  Alina sat back on the couch and rubbed her eyes. As much as she now loathed the man, Billy had certainly delivered as promised. Copies of emails between Regina and The Engineer, arranging payment and arrival, were included in the March folder of this year. Also in the March folder were visa forms for Johann, emails including classified information on Three Mile Island and flight arrangements for both Johann and his brother-in-law. Billy had also included proof of money paid to TSA agents and customs officials, with names and amounts, on both days that Johann and The Engineer had entered the country. Alina shook her head, almost impressed at the level of careful planning that had ensured seamless entry into the country for both men.

  The April folder had offered up even more documentation, including wire transfers into the Engineer's offshore account. Alina read the details of the accident that had killed Stephanie's friend, Shannon Gleason, with interest. She was forced off the road and over the edge a ravine by a truck. Billy made over a grand on that job and a notation on the deposit slip indicated he had been paid cash by A.L. Alina smiled coldly. Even if Alex Ludmere tried to claim ignorance on everything else, he couldn't talk his way out of his initials on a deposit slip. Regardless of what he tried to say, even the press couldn't believe he was blameless when faced with that.