Mountain of Evil_Trident Security Omega Team_Prequel

by Samantha A. Cole

  *****

  Trudging through the woods, Billy Ray brought up the rear of the motley group. He was sick of living in the wilderness, but belonged with his family. Besides, if he went back to civilization, he’d be shot by the cops or thrown in prison thanks to Jessup. It was supposed to have been an easy bank heist, but his asshole brother had killed two people—an off-duty cop, who had the bad luck of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and a security guard. Now, Billy Ray, Jessup, Darrell, and their father Ross Greenly were wanted by the law and living off the land to avoid a lifetime in prison.

  He hadn’t wanted to be part of the robbery, but where his father went, he followed. He’d dropped out of high school after failing his freshman year twice. Everyone said he was too stupid to hold down a decent paying job and live on his own, and he agreed with them. He just didn’t learn and retain information as easily as most people. Math and stuff got him confused and made his head hurt. So he had to rely on his father and brothers for money, and robbing people and businesses was how his family made most of their money, but this was the first time they’d hit a bank.

  Walking behind Darrell and the girl, he longed to run his fingers through her long, blonde hair. He thought she was so pretty—not in the way his brothers did. They just wanted to have sex with her. Billy Ray did too, but he also wished he could sit and talk to her, take her to a movie, and have her be his girlfriend. At twenty-one, he’d never had a girlfriend before. Oh, he’d had sex before, usually with one of his brother’s girlfriends when they’d been drinking, but he wanted a girl he could call his own. Susan—he loved her name—was just the type of girl he wished was his, but the pretty and smart ones usually wanted nothing to do with a dummy like him.

  Thumping overhead indicated another helicopter, this one moving much slower than the earlier one. Darrell grabbed Susan by the arm and pulled her close to one of the massive trees that would hide them from view. Billy Ray, Jessup, and their father did the same. They’d been hiking for about two hours; the girl’s family had to know by now she was missing, and search and rescue units had to be looking for her.

  As the chopper moved to the east, the noise died down. Darrell swung his rifle at Susan who was on her knees, and she threw her hands up in front of her face in a futile gesture to keep from getting shot. “No!”

  Billy Ray was about to yell at his brother not to shoot her, but, in a flash, Jessup’s hand shot out, knocking the rifle barrel up in the air. “What the fuck are you doing?”

  “What we should have done yesterday, asshole. We should have just fucked her and dumped the body.”

  Ross Greenly stepped between his two arguing sons and shoved them away from each other. “Knock it off, you pieces of shit! No one’s fucking or shooting the girl until we’re far from here. If they find her body, they won’t stop searching for who killed her. No one knows we’re out here and it’s going to stay that way. The money’s hidden; after the pigs think we’re long gone, we’ll get it and then head to Mexico. For now, the girl stays alive and with us. We might need her as a hostage.”

  Staring at Susan, Billy Ray could see she was terrified—she was pale, wide-eyed, and shaking—and he wished he could go over and comfort her.

  “Billy Ray!”

  His head whipped up at his father’s growl, and he realized he’d missed a few moments of the family conversation. “Yeah, Pa?”

  “Bring the girl. You two idiots, go lay a few false trails to throw off the fucking cops, then circle back around to the secondary camp.”

  His brothers didn’t seem happy about that, but when Ross Greenly laid down the law, his sons obeyed—it was either that or get their asses kicked.

  As Jessup and Darrell headed back the way they’d come, Billy Ray stepped over to Susan and helped her up. His father started in the direction of their next campsite, and they fell in behind him. They’d set up three campsites prior to the bank robbery in case they had to lay low until the heat died down instead of heading straight to Mexico; Jessup’s itchy trigger finger had ensured the backup plan had been needed.

  Susan tripped over a tree root, and Billy Ray grabbed her upper arm to keep her from falling. Once she was steady again, she glanced at his father’s back before returning her gaze to him. A small smile appeared on her pretty face.

  “Thanks,” she whispered so Ross didn’t hear her. “You’re a lot nicer than your brothers are.”

  Realizing he was still holding her arm, he let go and shrugged. “They’re okay. They tease me a lot.”

  “They shouldn’t do that. It’s mean.”

  The corners of his mouth ticked upward. She really was a nice girl. Maybe he could talk his father into letting him keep her. She could go to Mexico with them and be his girlfriend.

  “Move it, Billy Ray!”

  “Yes, Pa.”

  CHAPTER 6

  Once his feet hit the ground, Val Mancini disconnected his harness from the rope he’d used to scale down the small cliff. To some, one hundred feet might not be considered small, but rock climbing was one of his favorite recreational pastimes. For him, the sheer face of this cliff had been child’s play. As a retired member of the Army Special Forces and FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team, he’d climbed and descended many buildings, mountains, and chasms, some more dangerous and exciting than others.

  With McCabe unhooking from his own rope next to him, Val tilted his head back to check on Abbott and Foster who’d started their descents. He knew the female sniper could go much faster, but she was keeping an eye on their less experienced teammate. Ian and Devon had made an excellent decision when they’d made McCabe and Foster co-leaders of the team. Val had already been on several assignments with both of them, and each excelled at leadership in their own way. Combined, Val had no trouble taking commands from them.

  What he did have trouble with lately was his attraction to country singer Summer Hayes. It wasn’t an obsession with a celebrity he’d never met, since she was an occasional visitor to the Trident compound. Instead, it was an obsession with a beautiful woman he couldn’t get out of his head. She was a sweet, down-home kind of girl, who made everyone around her feel at ease. She was also a member of The Covenant. While Val and his teammates had all been approved to go into the club, personally, he’d only been inside during the hours it’d been closed. He had no problem with people who enjoyed different kinks in public, it just wasn’t for him.

  The first time Val had been introduced to Summer a few months ago at a barbeque in the yard between two of the converted warehouses at the Trident compound, he hadn’t recognized her as the Grammy winning performer. He’d just seen her as a hot little number who’d piqued his interest. It’d taken almost an hour of talking with her about a variety of subjects before he’d realized she was the singer of several country songs he had on his MP3 player.

  Summer was as light and bright as her name suggested, with short, sun-kissed, blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. She was a full foot smaller than his own six three frame and a little skinnier than the women he was normally attracted to, but her personality was what had drawn him in. She’d laughed at his corny jokes and told some good ones right back to him. He’d thought he stood a chance in asking her out, but after she’d had a private conversation with Ian and Devon’s wives later that afternoon, she’d backed off from Val. He started getting the “let’s just be friends” body language from her, and the day had ended with her leaving alone and him wondering what the hell had happened.

  Shortly after Summer had left, Angie had approached him. It was then he’d learned that the petite singer didn’t date out of the lifestyle, and after learning he wasn’t in it, she’d thrown up the roadblocks. Who would have thought that not being into the BDSM lifestyle would turn a woman off? He’d always thought it would have been the reverse.

  The sound of loose rocks coming toward him broke him out of his woolgathering. Jumping back, his gaze went up the cliff in a panic, but relief quickly followed when he saw both Foster and Abbot w
ere still safe and secure with a third of the way left to go. The rocks that had been kicked loose by one of them were small and fell harmlessly at his feet. Damn it. He knew better than to get distracted during a climb or descent. It was the easiest way to get someone killed. Well, not on my fucking watch.

  “You okay?” McCabe asked, without taking his eyes off the climbers.

  “Yeah. My bad. Zoned out for a sec.”

  The tight-faced man nodded, but remained silent. It was still an official reprimand, non-verbal as it was. Stay in the game or get the fuck out.

  Once Abbott and Foster were down, Morrison and Knight made quick work of their own descents. It didn’t take long for everyone to gear back up, and it was Val’s turn to take point. The sounds of their boots crunching on the snow filled the air. Rounding a dense crop of trees and brush, he slammed on the brakes and threw his fist up to shoulder height, stopping everyone behind him and demanding their silence. His heart pounded in his chest, and it took everything in him not to turn tail and run. Keeping his eyes on the big, black, furry mass in from of him, he twisted his head just enough so Foster, who was right behind him, could hear him say in a low and cautious voice, “It’s a bear—big motherfucker, too.”

  From the massive size of it, he guessed it was a male, which had its pros and cons. If it wasn’t a female, they didn’t have to worry about a mother’s instinct for protecting her young. However, male black bears could grow to be seven feet tall, standing erect, and usually weighed anywhere from 200 to 300 pounds, but there were some on record which had weighed between 500-600 pounds. While this one wasn’t that big, Val estimated it still tipped the scales at close to 400. It would also be very hungry having just emerged from winter hibernation. Furthermore, black bears could run up to thirty-five miles per hour compared to the average human clocking in at eight miles per hour—so running away from one was rarely a successful option.

  The beast’s snout was in the hole of a decaying, downed tree, as his huge, right, front paw pulled at the outer bark, trying to make the access larger. The trunk was probably filled with termites, which were on a bear’s diet up here in the middle of fucking nowhere.

  Val signaled for everyone to back up slowly—they would need to find a way around the animal. Trying not to make any sudden moves, he reached back and pulled the canister of bear spray from an outer pocket of his deployment bag. Brody Evans had ordered enough for everyone to carry, just in case. Shooting and killing a bear was to be avoided at almost every cost. While the American black bear wasn’t on the federal endangered list, no one wanted to harm the animal unnecessarily.

  Taking a step backward, he kept his eyes on the beast. A few more feet and he should be good. Val was just about to sigh in relief when his heel came down hard on a twig and the snap seemed to echo around him. The bear’s head came up with a grunt, and his gaze found the intruder right away. Fuck.

  The bear sniffed and grunted again, then lifted up onto his hind legs and let out a roar that would make some people piss their pants. If Val wasn’t armed to the teeth, with his team on his heels as backup, he may have been one of those people. This was definitely a huge example of the species.

  The first rule of bear encounters was don’t panic—check. The second was don’t run—double check. The third rule was talk to the beast in a calm voice and make yourself look as big as possible. Yelling could trigger an attack. If all went well by this point, and you were still alive, then move slowly and sideways, away from the bear. You could see where you were going and still not seem threatening.

  Val took a deep breath and stood tall, lifting his arms out to the side. “Hey, Smokey, good bear. We’re not here to hurt you or take your dinner away. Finish eating and we’ll take the long way around. All right?”

  The bear bellowed and stood his ground. From somewhere behind Val, McCabe softly said, “Costello’s got that big head in her sights. If he rushes you, dive to your right, and she’ll take the shot if she has to.”

  That was the last thing any of them wanted, but it was nice to know that either way, he wasn’t going to wrestle with the damn thing. Val thought about throwing it a shit-producing MRE to eat as a distraction, but that’d probably be considered animal abuse. Moving slowly to his right, he kept talking. “Good, Smokey. Or do you prefer Pooh Bear or Yogi?”

  The enormous beast dropped down on his front legs again, and pawed at the ground. Val braced himself for a charge, but, thankfully, it didn’t come. Swinging its head side to side, the bear watched as the human intruder got further and further away, then finally went back to his dinner. Once the team was a good distance away, they regrouped, and Val took some much needed oxygen into his lungs.

  Knight slapped him on his back and laughed. “If Romeo didn’t fit you so well, we’d be calling you Boo-Boo from now on.” His voice dropped. “Hey, Boo-Boo. Let’s go steal a pic-a-nic basket. Hey-ey-ey-ey.”

  Grinning, Val gave his buddy the finger. “Fuck you, man. I’ll be the first one to admit my fucking knees are shaking, and I’m sure yours would be too if you’d been on point.”

  “Let’s find out,” McCabe said with a chuckle. “Batman, you’re on point, while pretty boy recovers from his run-in with the big teddy bear.”

  The retired SEAL rolled his eyes. “Fuck.”

  *****

  The forest stirred around Mallory. It was dawn, and the nocturnal creatures were getting ready to sleep while the rest of the animals and birds were starting their day. Birds chirped and squirrels scurried, searching for their breakfast. Jessup’s snores reached her ears. Darrell and Ross—Billy Ray had told her his father’s name yesterday—had left the camp before sunrise to lay some more false trails for her potential rescuers. Billy Ray was sleeping about five feet from her, and Jessup was on the other side of the fire that had died out hours ago. They were supposed to be guarding her, but both had succumbed to slumber again after the others had left, believing Mallory was secured with the zip tie and rope around her waist. What they hadn’t realized was she’d been working the knot loose for the past few hours and was finally untied. Her wrists were still restrained but she could easily break the zip tie later. First she needed to get the hell out of there.

  Slowly rolling to her side, she tried to make as little noise as possible so as to not wake the men. Pushing up onto her knees, she paused a moment and observed them. Neither one moved or opened their eyes. She wanted to go north, but that would mean walking past them, and the others had gone in that direction earlier, so instead, she’d go east and then loop around when she could. Awkwardly getting to her feet, she tiptoed away, avoiding any twigs that might snap and alert her captors.

  She’d gotten about fifty feet into the woods when she heard Billy Ray shout, “Hey!”

  Damn it.

  Taking off at a full run, she didn’t even glance back as Jessup cursed. “Fuck! Get her!”

  Mallory dodged past trees and shrubs, hurdling some downed limbs, ignoring the stiffness in her legs. She needed to get as far away as possible before finding a place to hide for a few moments to rid herself of the zip tie. Her heart pounded in her chest as the men made no attempt to hide the sounds of them chasing her. Her foot hit something, and she stumbled but regained her balance and kept running. Cutting to her right, she did as her dad had taught her, zig-zagging instead of running straight. As she passed a thicket of shrubs, several birds flew from it, startling her, but she just ducked her head and kept going. Her dad’s voice resounded in her mind. Run, Mal. Keep running. Don’t look back. Dodge to the right, then to the left again—no set pattern. Take a route that’ll be difficult for them. You can see what’s ahead, but they won’t be focusing on the terrain, they’ll be looking at you. Find a weapon as soon as you can and don’t be afraid to use it. Swing a branch or rock to kill. Don’t worry about the consequences. It’s self-defense. If they get close, use your hands, fingers, feet, knees, elbows, and chin to attack. Go on the offensive; they won’t expect it.

  There were so
many other things he’d taught her and her brothers, practicing different self-defense and E&E—evade and escape—techniques whenever they had a chance. If she had a moment to analyze it all, she’d be shocked at how natural it had become. She didn’t puzzle over what she needed to do, she just did it.

  “Go that way, you fucking idiot! Get her!” Jessup sounded beyond pissed, and she didn’t want to focus on what he’d probably do if he caught her.

  Mallory’s feet struck the earth as she scanned the harsh landscape in front of her. The terrain was sloping upward. She needed to find a way to head in the other direction. A twig snapped behind her. Someone was getting closer but she didn’t dare take a peek to see who it was and how much distance was between them. Pivoting to the left, she was about to jump over another large tree limb when she was tackled from behind. Arms wrapped around her waist, and Mallory twisted to her right, using the person’s momentum to keep him moving past her. They went down, but thanks to her adjustment, she landed on top of his chest, knocking the air from his lungs. His grip loosened, and she scrambled to her feet.

  Even though her wrists were restrained, she could still use her hands. Picking up a hefty branch, she spun around to see Jessup trying to stand. With all her might, she aimed for his head, but he saw it coming and ducked. Her weapon collided his shoulder and the back of his neck, dropping him hard to the ground again. A moan escaped him even though his body went still. She hefted the branch to hit him again, but the sound of someone approaching fast, had her spinning around.

  Billy Ray ran toward her and stopped a few feet away, eyeing the defensive stance she took. She didn’t want to hurt him—he wasn’t like the others—but she would if she had to. His gaze went from her to his unconscious brother and back again.