To the Limit

by Virginia Kelly

  "General!" came the call from outside.

  "Leave him," the general ordered the medic. "Go see what Coronel Arenales wants."

  After the medic left, he continued. "Miss Williams, you have no option. Do not waste my time. Your brother will die without medical treatment. I will not give it to him until I get what I want."

  She couldn't trust this man, but time was running out. Mark needed help. "I can take you to what Mark hid."

  "Where?"

  "Mark gets a doctor," Mary Beth said, knowing she was gambling with Mark's life, "then I'll show you."

  "Or I could kill him now," the general said, aiming his revolver at Mark.

  Nick took the M-16 Arenales handed him. The colonel had not been surprised to hear what Nick had found in Daniel's house. It quickly became apparent that this man was here to clean up the mess of the so-called investigation the general was conducting. He'd sent Vargas's men to the bridge where other Rangers had taken them into custody. Arenales was in charge. Antonio Vargas would be the last to know.

  If he ever did.

  "Williams is on the bed," Arenales said. "The woman and the general were standing when the medic left. It should be an easy shot."

  The rifle fit comfortably in Nick's grip. It felt familiar. He walked around one of several parked Jeeps, braced his left elbow on the hood and aimed through the window.

  The general was talking, his back to the window. So easy. But Mary Beth stood a few feet away, in front of him. The shot would go straight through Vargas and kill her.

  If she would move…

  "I will leave you to your job," Arenales said.

  His job. He'd been good. Excellent. Better than the man he could see down the barrel of the M-16. They'd been compared often. He knew exactly what he could still do, despite not having used the skills in years. It was second nature.

  The general moved slightly. Mary Beth kept glancing down—-to her brother, Nick figured—but the general didn't move.

  It would be an easy shot, if only…

  "If you kill Mark, you'll never know if I've turned everything over to you." Mary Beth was sure her voice trembled. She only hoped she could bluff the general well enough that Mark would get the help he needed.

  "I can make you talk, Miss Williams."

  The door opened. Vargas's attention shifted instantly.

  "I'm sure you can." Nick's voice surprised her.

  Nick stood there, arms spread wide at his sides.

  "Ah," the general said, lowering the revolver. "You have come as I knew you would."

  "As you planned."

  The general smiled. "What terms do you have to offer?"

  She'd believed that Nick and the general were enemies. Had Nick come to help him?

  "Your life," Nick said.

  The cold detachment of his words shocked her. Confused and scared, she didn't understand. Did he intend to kill General Vargas? Mary Beth had seen his abilities. His gun was still in its shoulder holster, but she'd seen him. He could do it.

  Vargas laughed. "You would not do this."

  "Believe it," Nick replied.

  Vargas's expression changed from one of confidence to grudging admiration. "I can kill you and take her with me."

  He raised the gun and aimed at Nick, his finger squeezing the trigger.

  "No!" Mary Beth yelled, lunging toward the gun. She managed to hit the general's wrist, but didn't knock the gun from his hand.

  He recovered instantly, grabbing her arm and twisting it behind her as Nick went for his holstered gun.

  "Do not be so foolish, Nicholas. You know you cannot draw before I can shoot."

  "Let her go," Nick said, holding his hands wide again.

  "She is brave," Vargas said, holding her arm back. "She cares for you. And you care for her. She is what I have to negotiate with. What do you have?"

  "The proof."

  Mark's uneven breathing filled the silence in the room. Then, from outside came the sound of several vehicles driving up.

  "It's over. You cannot get away."

  "My men?" the general asked.

  "Arenales has them. He knows you sold arms to Primero de Mayo. He knows about the counterfeiting. Don't expect help from him. From anyone."

  The general threw a quick glance around the room, as if searching for an exit.

  "There's no escape this time. You have to make a choice."

  "I always said you were good, Nicholas. Always." He sounded remarkably friendly.

  "Don't flatter me."

  "Ah, it is not flattery. It is the truth.

  "You wouldn't know the truth."

  "I know who you are, what you are, Nicholas. I know you."

  "You don't know anything about me."

  "You are the other side of me," the general declared.

  Tension crackled in the room. The conversation was beyond Mary Beth's understanding, but she fully expected one of them to begin shooting.

  "Walk out now. Arenales will arrest you."

  "The charges?"

  "Treason." The single word resonated around them.

  "I am no traitor."

  "You are worse," Nick said with conviction.

  The general did not reply.

  "Show some sense of honor. Let her help her brother. Let them go. You and I. We can settle this."

  "Ah, this woman. She is the one, no, Nicholas? The one you will kill for."

  He already had. The thought struck Mary Beth as insane, unbelievable. Beyond uncivilized in this uncivilized place.

  "Let them go."

  The two men looked at each other. The silence around them grew.

  "No, Nicholas, I will not."

  It happened so quickly, she didn't have time to react. The general pulled her close and held something hard and cold against her neck. His gun.

  Over her own harsh breathing, Mary Beth heard the general say, "Now you have to make a choice."

  Nick's blood ran cold. There had been an instant when he could have taken a shot, pulled out his Glock and killed Vargas. He knew he was that good. But he'd paused, afraid that in the confusion Mary Beth would be hurt. That single second of fear for her would cost her life.

  "You make few mistakes, Nicholas. Why did you not shoot through the window? For you, it would have been very easy."

  "Let her go."

  "I hope it was not sentimentality that stopped you," Vargas added. "Or perhaps you doubted your skills? Does your Miss Williams know we are often compared, you and I?"

  A single second, and he'd failed. Again.

  "Shame, jail—they are not acceptable to me," Vargas continued. "You should know this."

  "And death is?"

  "I need a Jeep."

  "Arenales will not negotiate."

  "I am not negotiating with him. I will go or this woman will die."

  "Then you will die."

  "So be it." Vargas pulled Mary Beth tighter against him, the barrel of the gun pressed into her jugular.

  Nick needed an opening, a break. Something that would allow him to save her. He could draw on the general, hope that his reaction would be to turn the gun away from Mary Beth in an automatic defensive move. But he couldn't gamble. Vargas couldn't be counted on to react the way any other man would. She could die. She would, unless he did something.

  "I'll talk to Arenales."

  "Talk quickly, Nicholas. Two minutes. No more," Vargas said. "Put your hands on the top of your head before you turn around."

  Nick walked out, hands clasped on the top of his head. He wanted to turn and take the shot, but knew he couldn't. His best chance lay with Arenales.

  As he stepped outside, bright sunlight reflected off one of several Jeeps surrounding the compound. Shading his eyes he said, "Have them move back."

  "I cannot make such an order," the colonel replied.

  "The woman's life is at stake. Her brother's, too."

  Arenales seemed to consider what Nick had said. He looked around at the Rangers surrounding the compo
und, then back at Nick. "What does he want?"

  "A Jeep."

  "Impossible. I cannot allow that."

  It was happening again. The offer, the counteroffer, the refusal. Only this time it wasn't Daniel who would die because of the general's need for glory. Mary Beth would pay the price of his mistake—a second's pause.

  He couldn't let it happen. Wouldn't. Vargas had to die.

  And he would. When he came out, the Rangers would kill him. And kill Mary Beth because Vargas would not let her go-

  That left him with only one option. To do what he should have done minutes earlier, what his fear of hitting Mary Beth, or his conscience, or both had prevented. Antonio Vargas had stopped him from going back in for Daniel nearly three years ago by launching a disastrous assault. This time Nick would go back and do what had to be done. This time he would not fail, no matter the cost.

  Mary Beth had to live. Nothing else mattered.

  Surprised at how calm he felt, he made sure the safety was off the Glock and turned to walk back inside.

  "Nicholas," Arenales said.

  Nick turned back.

  Arenales tossed a 9mm Beretta toward him. "It is always better to have two weapons."

  Moving the Glock to the back waistband of his jeans, he pulled his shirt out enough to cover it. The weight of the Beretta in the holster reassured him.

  But the Glock was his weapon.

  All he needed was an opportunity.

  Perspiration rolled down Mary Beth's back. The room was hot and stuffy. Someone had turned off the power. Fear choked her.

  The general had nerves of steel. His body heat made her hotter, but she could almost swear he wasn't sweating. He simply waited.

  Mark's now labored breathing was the only sound in the room. He was getting worse. If he didn't get the help he needed soon, it would be too late.

  "I'm coming in," Nick shouted from the front. The door opened and he came in, calm and businesslike. He'd probably done this sort of thing a hundred times.

  "He refused?" the general asked.

  "Yes."

  "He does not compromise. I trained him well."

  "Leave her here."

  "The Rangers will have a difficult time shooting at a woman," the general said. "You underestimate chivalry, Nicky." The use of his nickname caught Mary Beth by surprise.

  Nick's eyes flickered in reaction before he replied. "You don't stand a chance."

  "This is where you are wrong. There is always a chance." He pulled back, dragging Mary Beth with him, always facing Nick. "With your left hand, throw aside your weapon and put your hands on your head," he ordered.

  Nick complied, and the general continued dragging her backward, toward a door just past the cot where Mark lay. A door that faced the river.

  "Come here," he told Nick.

  Nick didn't hesitate. With his hands on his head, he passed the general and came to stand beside the door, always facing Vargas.

  "You will open it with your left hand. Keep the right one on your head. The moment you open the door, put your hand back on your head and walk out. You may ask the Rangers to hold their fire."

  "Let her tend to her brother. Take me instead," Nick said from the doorway.

  "No, my best chance is with her."

  "You use yet another woman. You hide behind women."

  The general flinched at the insult. Mary Beth felt it and knew he'd shoot one or both of them. Moments dragged by.

  "Eres un caballero, a gentleman," the general finally said. "Elena did well with you."

  The admiration in his tone surprised Mary Beth.

  "She did well with your son. If you had not armed his enemies, he would be alive. Alive and shamed by what you have done."

  "Ah. Daniel did have evidence. I thought perhaps it was only Arenales who thought he could benefit."

  "Arenales is honorable. You hoped I would doubt Daniel. That in order to protect him, I would protect you."

  "He hid the proof. He did not give it to Williams."

  "That's where you're wrong. He and Williams worked together. But you killed him before they could use what they gathered. Arenales has everything. There is no escape."

  The general's arm tightened around Mary Beth. "You will not allow him to use what he has. It would hurt Elena."

  "You will be dead. You won't gain a thing."

  "My name will not be shamed."

  "Your legacy, your name—both are dead."

  "The boy, Nicholas," the general said. "He is my grandson. His mother is useless, but Elena will see to it that he is the Romero heir. He will have it all. He is my future."

  "He will live a life without the knowledge of you."

  A dark, heavy silence fell over the airless room.

  "But there is you, Nicholas," the general said finally. "Because of you, I still win."

  The last statement made no sense to Mary Beth. Her brain wasn't working, and fear dominated every breath she took.

  "You will never get anything from me. Arenales won't cover up for you. He owes you nothing."

  "Let us see, then, shall we? Open the door."

  Nick lowered his right hand to the doorknob. "Francisco, we're coming out!"

  Mary Beth's heart nearly stopped. A dozen Rangers stood on either side of the door, all aiming rifles at Nick. To the left stood Arenales. More Rangers had to be positioned around the front. About fifty yards away lay the heavy growth along the embankment of the Rio Hermoso.

  "Step outside, Nicholas."

  "Last chance," Nick said. "Let her go."

  "Ever the diplomat," the general said. "Step out."

  Nick walked forward. Mary Beth held her breath, expecting shots that did not come.

  "Stop," the general said once Nick stood well away from the house. "Turn around."

  Nick stopped, turned and waited. The Rangers and the colonel were behind and to the left and right of him. The gun at Mary Beth's neck slipped a little, on her sweat.

  "We have a dilemma," the general said. "I must get to the river. Nick wants to protect you, Miss Williams. He knows I will pull the trigger if I am shot." He kept walking, pulling her along, gun at her neck. "What do you suppose he will do?"

  Nick had another gun. He had to. He would shoot Vargas. She knew he would. She tried to think clearly enough to decide which way to jump when it happened.

  "Francisco?" Nick called, his gaze steady on the general, his hands on his head.

  "Let them pass," Arenales said to his men.

  All lowered their rifles slightly but kept them on their shoulders.

  She and the general reached Nick. "As I said, Nicky, chivalry," the general said in a conversational tone. He pulled Mary Beth along and, as they passed Nick and the Rangers, began backing toward the river, keeping her as a shield.

  "Do not turn around," he ordered Nick. "Walk to the river."

  Their shoes squished as they reached the soggy ground. Nick's back became Mary Beth's focal point. Finally, the river roared behind them.

  "You may turn around now."

  Nick turned toward the general and Mary Beth, remembering the exact position of each Ranger, of Arenales. Vargas had reached the overgrown bushes at the edge of the river and now stood about fifteen feet away from him, back to the river, facing him and the Rangers. The rushing river would make it impossible for Arenales and the Rangers to hear and react quickly to anything that was said. The general's hold on Mary Beth had relaxed, but only slightly. The gun was still aimed at her neck but was not pressed to it.

  "We reach the end," Vargas said.

  "Let her go. She will only slow you down. This is a mistake."

  "I do not make mistakes, Nicholas. I never make mistakes."

  "Your greed was a mistake."

  "Perhaps a flaw, not a mistake." The general shrugged. "Your character, Daniel's character, these are things I did not anticipate. Perhaps they were my errors in judgment."

  "Your whole life has been an error, a mistake," Nick said.
/>   "You, of all people, cannot mean that." He stepped slightly away from Mary Beth, as if daring him to try a shot.

  "Nicholas has another gun, Miss Williams. Did he tell you that our marksman's abilities are equal? He is looking for an opportunity. We are much alike, Nicholas and I."

  "Move away from her."

  "Will you kill me? You are a diplomat. A man of peace, yet you show no compassion. No mercy."

  "Just as you showed none for your own son."

  "You know nothing, Nicholas. Nothing."

  "You armed Primero de Mayo. Did you expect them to let him go when you betrayed them?"

  "You failed him with your negotiations," Vargas sneered the last word.

  "I would have gotten him out."

  "No one could get him out."

  "I could have. I would have."

  The general's grasp on Mary Beth loosened slightly. He looked at Nick as if seeing him for the first time. "You were going back in," he said, surprise in his voice.

  Mary Beth shifted away ever so slightly. All Nick needed was a moment. A small movement in the right direction. He waited.

  "You were going to kill them all and save him," the general said, his right arm slightly lower, the gun aimed now at Mary Beth's shoulder.

  Nick said nothing. The silence grew.

  "Your failure, then, Nicholas," he said finally. "You should have done what I would have done with your talent, your first opportunity. You could have killed them all the first time. Instead you negotiated your failure. Did you doubt your skills?" he asked. "It was not fear for yourself. That is not something that is in you. You feared for him. Your fear for him stopped you."

  Nick heard the words but refused to allow them to affect him. He needed an opening.

  "You are not a man who doubts himself. In that, you are like me. You let your love for Daniel weaken you," Antonio Vargas continued. "You can never allow any emotion to weaken you."

  He suddenly seemed smaller, weary against the backdrop of the muddy river. But he straightened and raised the gun to Mary Beth's neck again. "You will see. It is all in the blood. You cannot avoid it."

  No, he couldn't, Nick realized. He would have to kill this man. "You gain nothing by killing her. Throw down your gun. Move away from her."