by Harper Steen
He sighed and stared at the cloudless sky as his thoughts wandered. At some point, he would find a woman who would drive him just as crazy as Liz drove his brother. That thought should have frightened him, but it didn’t. Not in the least.
Had he reached the point where he’d become tired of living a casual kind of life? Was he looking for something more permanent? Jeff wasn’t sure, and he decided to just let himself be surprised by whatever life brought him. Still, he’d be damned if he wouldn’t at some point find a woman who meant the world to him, just like Liz meant to Gray.
He heard the front door close. Apparently Gray was back from his errands.
Jeff looked over at Liz. Her feet weren’t tapping in time to the music anymore. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was deep and regular. He got up and went to meet his brother. He found him in the kitchen.
“Hey, what’s that? I thought you were getting a friend for Furball.” Jeff looked at the two well-behaved dogs that sat on either side of Gray, his eyebrows raised so high they nearly touched his hairline.
“I wanted to. But the animal shelter wanted to place these two together, so I took both. I’ve got more than enough room. I’m sure the cat will get along with both of them.”
“Well, at least you took my advice and got a sheep dog. What’s the other one?”
“Who knows. A mutt.”
Jeff squatted down and petted both dogs at the same time, not wanting either one to feel left out.
“What are their names?”
“The small, sassy one with the dark brown fur is Lucky, and the sheep dog is Nero.” Gray looked around. “Is Liz still sleeping?”
“She’s sleeping again. This time outside on the patio. We ate something earlier, and then she fell back asleep. Did you at least get the dogs some food?”
“Of course. It’s out in the car. Can you help me bring it in? I got enough for the next two months.”
When they got out to the car, Jeff marveled at the quantity of meat packages and dog food, canned and dry, that was piled up in the trunk. “You must have meant you got enough to last until next winter!” That was just like his brother. When he tackled something, he did it right. Together they hauled the food supplies into the kitchen. When they heard Liz’s shocked scream, they dropped the bags on the counter and ran to her.
Liz sat on the terracotta patio tile, looking in disbelief from one dog to the other. She had toppled right off the lounge chair in shock. Panting happily, Lucky had enthroned himself on her lap and Nero sat right next to Liz, nudging her upper arm with his nose.
“Is this what Gray had to take care of, Jeff?” she asked after she’d recovered from the initial shock.
“Looks like it.” He laughed softly.
“Did you forget, Gray, that I have a cat? He doesn’t get along with every dog like he does with Brutus. Furball isn’t going to be happy to be confronted by two strange dogs.”
“I got them for him, so he’d have someone to play with.”
“A sheep dog? He’ll turn my poor Furbi into shish kebabs in seconds.”
“I doubt that. The staff at the shelter assured me that Nero and Lucky are cat-friendly dogs.” Gray decided not to mention that he’d made sure to choose pets who were fond of children too.
As if on cue, the cat arrived on the scene and paraded toward his mistress with his tail raised high. He didn’t even glance at the dogs. It wasn’t until Lucky failed to evacuate Liz’s lap that he threw the dog a poisonous glance and growled softly. Quickly the mutt jumped up and obediently took his place next to Nero. Furball settled down in the spot Lucky had vacated, claiming his prior rights.
“Looks like the animal shelter was right.” Jeff laughed. He could hardly believe what he’d just seen. When Nero began to lick the cat’s fur in a devoted fashion, he almost cracked up with laughter. There was no way that was a real sheep dog. That was more like a sheep, disguised in dog fur! Out of the three four-legged creatures in this house, the cat clearly was the one in charge.
Gray crouched down next to Liz, scratched Lucky and then Nero behind the ears and then devoted his attention to Furball. “He missed Brutus so much that I wanted to get a friend for him. He deserves to be happy here.”
“Furball? Why does he need to be happy here? And what about me? Does anyone here even care what I want? You bossy types are so infuriating!”
Gray looked at Liz contritely. “I should have asked you before I bought Furball playmates, shouldn’t I?”
“It’s your house. You can buy as many animals as you want. A whole zoo, for all I care. But I want to be consulted about other matters,” she said. “Especially anything that involves me!”
As she looked at the pets, Liz finally allowed herself to chuckle. “Anyway, it doesn’t look like you got him one playmate, but two.” There was no point in arguing further. Liz loved animals and Nero and Lucky were too cuddly for her to push them away again.
“They would only give me the two together,” Gray said. Liz set the cat next to her on the tile and allowed Gray to pick her up. She smiled at the dogs who were now exploring their new yard curiously.
Chapter 13
“You married her, Blackwood?” The man on the other end of the line sounded anything but delighted.
“Yes, Sir. Feelings can’t be helped.”
“Does this mean I should plan on Mrs. Blackwood and Mrs. Robbins submitting their resignations?”
“No, Sir. For now they’re still at your disposal. But I have a request.”
“You and your partner have married two of my best agents and—if I judge you correctly—it’s only a matter of time, before they’ll be sidelined. And you want me to do you a favor?” Townsend’s tone was incredulous. Gray was undaunted by the reproach.
“With your permission, I’d like to monitor and manage their assignments. That’s all I ask.”
“You want to keep an eye on them, huh? What about your colleague? Robbins is going to want in on this too?”
“Yes.”
“I doubt you’ll be satisfied with an objection, so I might as well agree.”
“Thank you, Sir!” Gray couldn’t hide his relief.
“You’d better thank me.” Gray’s boss slammed down the phone.
So that was that. Gray had stayed right next to the telephone after he’d faxed Townsend a copy of the marriage certificate, and Townsend’s call had followed within seconds, as he’d expected.
He wasn’t exactly earning points with his boss over this marriage. Chris’s and Jennifer’s marriage didn’t help. Gray had watched the women’s last assignment live on the monitor and he knew that when they resigned from active duty, it would be a huge loss for Townsend.
Now that he and Chris were in the picture, Townsend had to expect that’s what would happen next. Women in committed relationships could quickly be struck with the desire to have children, a life change that made them unfit for deployment with the elite unit. Townsend was right on the mark with his assumption that he and Chris would want exactly this to happen in the near future. Once their spouses were sidelined by motherhood, they wouldn’t need to worry about the women’s safety anymore. That might be an old fashioned way of thinking, he admitted, but it drove him almost out of his mind to think about what could happen to Liz during her assignments.
Gray rubbed his neck and sighed. He had put off calling his boss for three days in order to steal a little time with Liz before her next assignment. Now that Townsend knew about the situation, Gray figured it wouldn’t be long before he gave Liz and Jennifer a new assignment, while he still could.
Fortunately, Liz didn’t reproach Gray at every opportunity for forcing her into marrying him. She didn’t ban him from her bedroom at night either, as Jeff had predicted. A smile flitted across Gray’s face as he thought about what had taken place between the two of them the night before. Each time they made love, he fell for her a little more, and he couldn’t imagine losing her. It hit him harder each time he thought about what cou
ld happen to her during her missions, but sooner or later he would eliminate these problems too. One step at a time.
The next point in his mission to conquer Liz’s heart was the clearing out of her apartment, which he would tackle today. Once this was done, she’d no longer have any reason to spend every day there and not reappear until late in the evening.
Gray knew exactly why she did that. Liz was trying to keep a certain amount of distance between them, but he couldn’t let that go on any longer. Admittedly her apartment was only one of several spots she could retreat to, but it was the most important one. The time she spent at the training center and at the shooting range was of no consequence. After all, the training was essential for her job. But if he wanted Liz to commit to him emotionally, he needed to cut the ties to her old, familiar life as a single woman, which included her ties to her apartment. It might be selfish of him to feel this way, but Gray thought Liz shouldn’t be able to bolt back into her past anymore. He needed her to concentrate on her marriage, on their future together, and above all, on him.
Gray walked out of his study and went looking for his wife. He found her in the yard where she was playing wildly with the dogs as Jeff watched her with smile. He looked at his brother over his sunglasses. “She misses her job, Gray,” he said quietly. “She’s listened to her voicemail at least three times in the last hour.”
“I noticed that too. I want to take her mind off things. Will you help us get the rest of her things from her apartment?”
“Of course. I’ll jump onto my motorcycle and go get the truck. That way you can drive right up to her apartment.” Jeff jumped up and disappeared into the house. A minute later Gray heard the front door close behind him
“Liz?” As she looked in his direction, Nero jumped up on her and almost knocked her off her feet.
“Yes?”
“We’re going to get the rest of your things out of your apartment today. Jeff went to get a truck.”
“No! You can’t do that. Not yet! Eventually, but not now!” She walked toward him.
“Why put it off any longer? You could get a call from Townsend at any time and then it’ll just get postponed again.”
Liz stopped in front of Gray and looked at him searchingly. His face didn’t betray any of his thoughts, but she knew there was more to this decision. This wasn’t about finally getting the move behind them. Gray had something in mind. Liz sighed and nodded. It really was pointless to have an apartment in the city that she didn’t even live in. In the few hours that she had spent there over the last few days, she hadn’t felt as comfortable as she had before. It was almost as if she didn’t belong there anymore. “I’ll just get my keys.” Liz walked around Gray and disappeared into the house.
***
Two hours later they were standing in her living room and packing up the first of her personal things in boxes when the doorbell rang.
“That must be Jeff. I’ll get it.” Gray went to the door. When he returned to the living room with his brother, he found her on the phone. Gray stopped abruptly and a moment later his premonition was confirmed. He could tell right away who was on the other end of the line.
“Yes, Sir. Understood. I’ll be there in about an hour.” She hung up and looked apologetically at them. “Boys, I have to go!”
“I already figured that out.”
“You can do this by yourselves, can’t you?”
“We’ll have to.” Gray walked slowly to her, stood right in front of her, and pulled Liz into his arms. Holding her tightly, he closed his eyes so that she couldn’t see the doubt in his eyes. Then he looked at her and gently kissed her good bye. “Take care of yourself, Liz. Will you promise me that?”
“I always do!”
After he’d released her, she grabbed her keys and her helmet and disappeared out the door within seconds.
“That wasn’t easy for you, was it?” Jeff asked, even though he already knew the answer.
“Obviously.” Gray pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. Townsend called almost immediately, just as he’d expected. When the conversation was over and he’d hung up, Jeff gave him a questioning look.
“What was that all about?”
“I made sure that Chris and I would monitor and manage all their assignments, moving forward.”
“Do you think that’s such a good idea?”
“At least I won’t have to sit at home and chew my fingernails and wonder if something has happened to them. I can do something if needed, too.”
“True. Do you mind if I look over your shoulder a little? I’ve always wanted to know exactly what you do and see how what we do looks from your point of view.”
“That’s kind of an unusual request, but I don’t really mind.” Jeff had the SFSU-IV security clearance, so Gray didn’t see a problem with it. Together they left Liz’s old apartment and set out for the agreed upon meeting point.
***
Chris was already waiting at the airstrip wearing a gloomy expression, and his hands were buried in his pockets. Without a word, they climbed into the KIOWA military helicopter that was to take them to the base from which they would monitor and manage the mission.
As they walked into the observation room, Chris reached for the fax that had just come in over the secure line and slid into the document tray.
“They’re already on their way to Honduras.”
“What’s the mission?”
“To rescue a kidnapped family of four that’s distantly related to the U.S. vice-president. The captors are demanding the immediate pardon and release of two former leaders of a gang of youths. These men were convicted in West Virginia six months ago of murder-for-hire and drug trafficking, among other things, and sentenced to consecutive terms of life imprisonment.” Chris’s eyebrows drew closer together as he read. “Hm. According to records, the Sanchez brothers are forty and thirty-eight years old, so not really young anymore. But apparently, their supporters haven’t forgotten them, even though they haven’t lived in Honduras for almost ten years and became American citizens through marriage.”
“You forget that these gangs, which terrorize the cities in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, aren’t just made up of youths. Some gang members are as old as the Sanchez brothers.” Gray took the fax from Chris and scanned the information. “The hostage-takers are probably about the same age. Their activities show that they’re still loyal to their former leaders. They’ve probably stayed in contact all along.”
“Will that have an impact on Liz’s and Jennifer’s mission?” Jeff asked. “The fact that they won’t be dealing with youths, I mean.”
“It’s possible. For more than twenty years, these guys haven’t had anything to do with each other beyond murder, robbery, burglary, rape and abduction. What do you think their threshold is for violence?”
“It’s got to be pretty low.”
“That’s right. They’ve never exactly been reluctant to use force, so negotiations don’t make a lot of sense. There’s no way to predict how they’ll react. Who knows what they’d do if they thought we were trying to delay them with our negotiation efforts? We’ll have to keep calm, plan not to negotiate, and accept the terms they set. We can’t let them find out how valuable their hostages are. If we do, this whole affair will become even more catastrophic.” Gray ran a hand over his neck, handed the fax back to Chris and sat at his two computer monitors.
Jeff sat in a swivel chair and centered himself behind his brother and Chris so he could peer over their shoulders while they worked. He leaned back, stretched his legs out in front of him and crossed his arms over his chest.
“First we check out the coordinates of the signal to see if they’re still at the abandoned guerilla camp, like the fax says.” Gray nodded at the huge monitor that took up almost the entire wall in front of their workstations. “Pull the satellite image up on the big screen, Chris.”
A few seconds later the satellite image appeared before them. The camp was completely dark; only a
few isolated light sources suggested that someone could be in the camp. Gray entered a command on his keyboard and the heat signatures of the people at the location became visible.
“Thirty-four people,” Chris counted. “So, four kidnap victims, and thirty abductors. That’s a lot. Jennifer and Liz will have to extract the hostages at a time when only a few guards are making their rounds and the rest are sleeping. I don’t see any other way for them to be able to complete their mission without confrontation.”
Gray nodded. “I agree. Where are they, anyway?”
Chris zoomed out from the satellite image and all of Central America appeared on the screen. With a few strokes of the keyboard, he accessed the signal for the aircraft that was carrying Jennifer and Liz into the area and pulled up the information on the large flat-screen wall monitor. The prop plane, a Bell-Boeing CV22A OSPREY, was a tilt rotor aircraft that had vertical takeoff and landing abilities, as well as short takeoff and landing capabilities. It was represented on the screen by just a small moving dot.
“They’re almost over El Salvador. They should reach the target area in Honduras in an hour.”
“Well, then they’ll report in soon.”
Chris nodded and put the receiver on the loudspeaker. Together they waited for the women to check in. Once the OSPREY was over El Salvador, they heard the sound of static and then Liz’s voice resonated loudly and clearly in the observation room. “Agents Gibson and Langner…Sorry! I mean, agents Blackwood and Robbins reporting for duty. Who’s on the other side?”
Jeff grinned at Gray, who couldn’t suppress his own smile. So, Townsend hadn’t said anything to them. Well, fine; he’d do it. “Likewise: Blackwood and Robbins. Who’d you think you’d be working with?”
“Chris?”
“Gray?” The women sounded surprised.
“But, of course! How about we activate your cameras so we can see you and not just hear you,” Chris suggested. Fuzzy images flickered on Gray’s monitors. He changed the signal frequency so they could see the women more clearly.
