Anders’s Angel

by Dale Mayer

  Angelica lifted her head and looked at him. “How early?”

  He gave her a grin. “We’re flying out at six, so need to be at the airport by five.”

  “Which airport?” she asked, wondering how far away it was, how early they needed to get up tomorrow. “When are we leaving here?”

  “Due to the circumstances, around three in the morning,” Harrison said.

  “That’s early,” she said. “I presume we’re not going to the same airport as the rest of the team, deliberately.”

  “Exactly. The attack on the mountain seems to be on you and your team as well. So we all need to be on guard. And, unless our bad guys got reinforcements in town, it might help if we split up, so the two remaining attackers from the mountain have more than one trail to follow. We can all stay tonight at this cabin, which we reserved in a fake name just yesterday. Hopefully the attackers haven’t figured out we are here. But we also made new reservations at another hotel for both Steve and Hannah, if you prefer.”

  Steve and Hannah looked at each other and frowned.

  “It might be easier for you at the new hotel.”

  Steve and Hannah nodded, then Steve said, “In that case we’re probably better off there, as we’re closer to the airport in the morning.”

  “Good enough,” Harrison said. “We hired a local associate to drive you as soon as dinner is over. He’ll stick around to make sure you board the plane with no problems.”

  “Thanks,” Steve said, with a grim smile to Hannah.

  After that, dinner was a much more somber affair as the researchers realized their parting was imminent. Angelica frowned as she ate her steak, which was beautifully cooked. But her stomach was a little touchy at the thought of being separated from her coworkers. It was one thing as a group to have Anders around, but it was another thing to have their numbers cut.

  “So all four of you are coming with me to England?” she asked.

  The men nodded. “Yes, we are.”

  She didn’t know what the hell Carlo was up to, and he said very little to her, so she wasn’t sure why she was in danger now. And what frustrated her most was not knowing any of the details of what her father was up to. She liked to cross all the Ts and dot all the Is before she did anything, so she had more information before deciding. When she finished eating, she said, “In that case, we need to get to bed early. Three o’clock will reach us all too soon.”

  “And we’ll be running watches all night as well,” Dezi said. “Every two hours again.”

  She stared at him. “But then you won’t get any sleep.”

  “There are four of us,” he said. “We’ll be fine.”

  She glanced at her cell phone on the table beside her and realized it was already after seven. That meant, in eight hours, they would be gone. She’d be lucky if she got five hours of sleep. “In that case, no point in wasting time.”

  She stood and carried her plate into the kitchen and proceeded to wash it, leaving it to dry in the drain board, Hannah collected the other dishes as well. Between them, the two women washed up as the men took care of the barbecue, and, within minutes, they were all settled again on the deck with a second round of beer.

  Hannah sat beside her. “I’ll miss you. Make sure you let me know when you get to England, okay?”

  Angelica nodded. “It’s been a very strange trip. I can’t say I’ll be upset to get home to the States again.”

  Hannah gently patted her hand. “Sometimes life throws us curveballs.”

  “Which is why I’ve always hated baseball,” Angelica declared. “Winter sports were much more my style.”

  The two women smiled amiably.

  Hannah rose. “If we’re heading to the hotel, I’d like to go sooner than later. You guys might be able to do without sleep, but I need more than normal these days.” And, indeed, she did look tired.

  Angelica had to wonder how many more trips Hannah had in her. She never spoke about her age, but, as far as Angel could tell, given the number of grandkids Hannah had already, she had to be in her late fifties, if not her late sixties. She’d aged well, but this last trip had been hard on her. It had been hard on all of them.

  Anders’s phone chimed. He checked the text and nodded. “Steve and Hannah, your ride is outside, whenever you are ready. I’ll speak to the driver and be right back,” Anders said, Harrison exiting the cabin with him.

  Angelica stood and gave the older woman a quick hug. “You take care of yourself, and we’ll see you stateside.”

  Hannah walked upstairs to grab her belongings. Angelica waited at the front step with the other men as Hannah came outside, followed by Steve. She gave Hannah another hug, then threw her arms around Steve and hugged him tight. “You look after her,” she whispered.

  He hugged her back. “Will do.”

  And then, before Angelica knew it, her coworkers were in the truck and driving down the road. She stood on the front porch for a long moment until somebody nudged her arm. She looked up at Anders.

  He motioned toward the inside of the cabin. “I don’t like you standing out here where anybody can see you.”

  She cast her gaze around what appeared to be a completely disinterested countryside. But, after seeing Nate get shot, she realized the danger wasn’t always visible. She stepped back inside, closing the door tight behind them.

  She wandered through the cabin, made sure the kitchen was cleaned up and then stepped out onto the back deck. Because it faced the hillside, the chances of anybody seeing her here were much less. With the other researchers gone, this became a little too real again. She shook her head, turned to face the men and said, “So we go back to England, and then what?”

  “Hopefully the men involved in this will have been taken into custody, and we won’t have to worry about them coming after you.”

  “When you first reached me, you said the bad guys might kidnap me for leverage. What do they want Carlo to do?”

  “Sign a bill up for a vote. Something to do with weapons in the country.”

  “Jesus,” she said. “He’s been pressured to vote one way or another on all kinds of things. Why is this one so important?”

  “A lot of money is involved,” Anders said. “It’s always something. It’s just the bigger the deal, the more pressure to make the vote go the way they want it.”

  She stared off aimlessly into the sky. “True enough. But, even if they do kidnap me, I’m not sure Carlo would make the changes they want him to make.”

  The men looked at her sharply.

  She shrugged. “We’re not exactly close.”

  “But you’re his only child, are you not?”

  Slowly she nodded her head. “I’m not sure that would make a difference. I don’t know. But we’re barely civil. And anybody expecting to use me to pressure Carlo into doing anything obviously doesn’t know that.”

  “Your father always gives the impression he’s a strong family man.”

  “Sure,” she said carelessly. “Other people’s families.”

  “Explain,” Anders said.

  She glanced at him resentfully. “Explain what? I already told you about my parents’ divorce and Carlo having multiple relationships beforehand. He goes through women like others go through coffee filters. Sometimes young women. Then it will be married women—then back again. He doesn’t care. He’s crossed the line in both directions.”

  The men gave a mutual snort and head shake.

  She caught their reactions and nodded. “It’s not exactly unheard of in our society, but he seems to prefer the thrill of that. If he’d told you that I was under a threat because somebody wanted to take me out as revenge for his actions, then I would have understood. And I totally see the possibility of the wanting-him-to-vote-a-certain-way thing because I’ve certainly been exposed to that before. It’s never gotten to this extreme though.”

  “A lot of big money is involved, trying to get it passed,” Reyes said. “They’re only one vote apart, and your father’s
vote will make a great difference.”

  “Of course he’s not in favor of weapons, right?” Angelica asked.

  The men nodded.

  “Well, it would be interesting to see what he does.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Carlo never does the expected. Even when you think it’s all locked down in a done deal, he tends to be a wild card and changes his mind at the end of the day.”

  “Which is another reason why we suspect you’ll be under guard until that vote happens.”

  She stared at Anders in horror. “When is the vote?”

  “Two days from now,” Harrison said. “Nothing we can do but keep you safe until it’s over.”

  She shook her head. “Wow. And after the vote?”

  “There won’t be a revote,” Anders said quietly. “So it’ll be a case of making sure the vote is done right the first time.”

  “And if, and only if, we survive the next two days, you’re saying I’ll be safe to leave then?”

  “Yes,” he said.

  But she heard the doubt in his voice. She stared at him as her mind rifled through all the information she knew. “You’re afraid they’ll kill me anyway? As punishment for having cast the wrong vote?”

  He stared at her and said, “We don’t have all the details either. If we knew these men’s identities, we would have a better idea of the men they are. But no doubt some people would be plain pissed off and might feel like he deserves it.”

  She sagged into one of the living room chairs and stared up at him wordlessly for a long moment. “So why take me to England at all? Why not just return to the States, where I can hide away until the stupid vote is over, and it will go whatever way it goes?”

  “It’s our orders,” he explained.

  She frowned at him. “And if they’re the wrong orders?” She realized she’d put him on the spot when he just stared back. “In other words, you don’t know what to do. It’ll depend on the situation at the time.”

  He nodded slowly. “Orders are orders, unless they’re not good orders,” he said. “While we were in the navy, orders were orders, and there was no changing them. Now we have the freedom to choose and to change as needed. But there has to be a good reason behind making any change in this case.”

  “Why England at all?”

  “That’s where your father is,” Harrison said.

  “And? I haven’t seen Carlo in years. Five, maybe even six, years now. And only then because I was visiting my grandfather, and Carlo came into the room. So I don’t know why he cares now.”

  “Maybe it’s not about him caring. Maybe it’s him realizing how much he’s lost by his actions,” Reyes said.

  She laughed. “No, that’s not likely. I can’t imagine him giving a shit about me at this point.”

  “I’m sorry you feel that way,” Anders said. “I can understand your confusion as to why we chose to go back to England, but we’re better off taking you where you’re expected to be and setting traps to see if these attackers can be caught and taken out instead of always looking over your shoulder.”

  “I can’t stay in England forever. So we need to ensure I can go about my life again, as I want to live it, when this vote is over.”

  “I understand that,” Anders said. “But, for the moment, you might have to do what you’re told.”

  Resentfully she said, “That’s never been my strong suit.”

  He just grinned and didn’t say anything.

  *

  Anders also had to wonder why they were relocating her to England when it wasn’t her choice. He pulled out his phone, and, casually settling into a chair, texted Levi, asking him if the location to return her to was locked down.

  It’s her home. What’s the problem?

  She doesn’t live there. It’s her father’s home. And she doesn’t want to go there.

  Why?

  Anders quickly explained the problem.

  I’ll think about it.

  They did have tickets to England, so they would definitely make a showing there, as per the contract. But that didn’t mean they had to stay there. The more Anders looked at it, the less he liked the idea of keeping her at her father’s place. As targets went, it made it damn easy to take out both at the same time. That might help the shooter’s side of this equation, but it wouldn’t help either her or her father.

  “We’ll consider all options,” Anders said quietly to Angel.

  Harrison shot Anders a hard glance, hopping up onto the kitchen counter, tapping out a message on his phone, texting somebody about what was going on. Harrison never said anything. He sat very quietly on the counter.

  It was another twenty minutes before Dezi entered the cabin, his phone already ringing. “Our associate,” Dezi announced.

  “I’ll finish up Dezi’s watch,” Reyes said as he left, shutting the front door.

  Anders checked his watch. It had taken almost an hour to deliver Steve and Hannah to their new hotel rooms.

  Dezi hung up and said, “Both of them are tucked in their hotel rooms. They’ll get a call in the morning to wake them in time, and the shuttle is arranged to take them to the airport. Our associate will tail them, making sure they board their plane as planned.”

  “Perfect,” Harrison said. “That’ll minimize any more attacks and possible casualties.”

  Dezi nodded, walked into the kitchen, snagged a beer and returned to the living room. “Everybody looks awfully glum. What’s up?”

  Nobody answered until finally Angel piped up and said, “I don’t want to go to England.”

  “The land of boiled sausages and overcooked peas? Can’t say I blame you. But it isn’t for very long, so it won’t make much difference.”

  She gave one short laugh. “We’ll be there, probably before noon. With any luck, I can talk with Carlo to find out what the hell’s going on, how to get out of this and see if I can fly home tomorrow night.”

  “I suspect he’ll want you to stay there for the two days until the vote anyway.”

  “I suspect he will,” she said with spirit. “But he doesn’t control what I do, even though he tries hard. And I have an awful lot of reasons for not being in England, especially if people are expecting me to be there.” She stood, took her beer bottle to the kitchen and put it on the counter. “Given that we’re leaving in just a few hours, I’m heading to bed.” And she turned and walked upstairs. She completely ignored Anders.

  He watched her go and said to the others, “I’ll take first watch.” He got up, put his beer beside hers and headed toward the door.

  Once he was outside, located Reyes and relieved him, Anders headed to the corner of the property and climbed the hill above. Earlier, when they were saying goodbye to the other researchers, Anders thought he had seen movement up there. It could have been a deer, but it was too far away to see clearly. Regardless, Anders wouldn’t sit in the cabin and wait for an attack. Far better to be up here and see it coming.

  As soon as he was in his chosen spot, he let the others know where he was.

  Any sign of anything? Harrison asked.

  No, he texted back.

  As the wind whistled past his right ear, he hit the ground and waited. He didn’t dare raise his head. Just a faint whisper told the story of the shooter sliding down the hillside.

  Shit. He quickly texted Harrison. Shooter below on left.

  Shit. Heading out. Stay where you are.

  Damn. He wanted to go but with Harrison searching for the shooter he was better off standing watch. He shifted position to watch Harrison’s progress. He caught a slight movement to the left. Harrison had moved fast. He was sliding down following the shooter’s pathway but in his heart, Anders knew he was long gone.

  His gaze kept moving… the last thing he wanted was the shooter to circle around and come up on his blind spot. Angel would be safe in England because they’d be keeping an eye out for her. But probably a lot less manpower would be required if they flew her back to the US.

&nb
sp; He sent Levi a text bringing him up to date.

  Levi’s response was immediate. The father wants her in England up until the vote. Not only to keep her safe but also to keep up appearances apparently. I’m not sure how much we can believe, based on what you’re saying, but he says he’s a family man through and through, and to have his daughter at his side apparently will make a difference.

  Anders shook his head. I don’t know how politicians view that kind of shit, but she doesn’t want to be there and doesn’t want to see him and definitely doesn’t want to play “perfect family” with him. It might be a better idea for him to have nothing to do with her, rather than having her so visibly unhappy about being there.

  Point taken, Levi texted. But that’s the job. So, when you arrive in England, contact me, and we’ll see how things stand.

  She plans to be there for a couple hours and then fly home.

  We can’t keep her there against her will, Levi texted. Neither do we want to lead her into a trap and have her taken out when she arrives at her home.

  Movement on his left stilled him, sliding his gaze that way. He watched as a deer made its way down the hill. He smiled, loving the sight of Mother Nature intermingling with human society. Yet, the small village was a mere dot on the landscape and certainly was not disrupting Mother Nature’s other animals. He kept his gaze carefully moving the entire time but didn’t see anything more.

  No sign of him? You?

  No, Anders texted back. If he’s smart he’s gone.

  I’ll do one more sweep then head in when your shift is over.

  When his shift was up, he waited for Reyes to step out. He chose a different spot up on the other side of the house on the hills where he’d get a different overview of the place. Anders slowly made his way back inside. By waiting for Reyes to set up his spot, Reyes could see if anybody had followed Anders back into the cabin.

  As he stepped inside, he found no sign of Angel. He walked to the living room, where Harrison and Dezi were on their laptops.

  “Considering we’re leaving soon, I’m going to bed too,” Harrison said as he packed up the rest of his electronic gear and took it with him upstairs.