“Really?” She had met Special Agent O’Cleary in L.A. Actually, she had saved his life by shooting a man who’d had him in a chokehold.
“And what happened to the team after the special training mission here was over?”
“We got our next assignments and went our separate ways.”
“You didn’t keep up with any of them?”
“Only the ones I worked with.”
Simon’s job had been his whole life. “I don’t think O’Cleary would have come after us in that helicopter.”
“No.”
Cooley was dead. “And so that leaves four other agents who know about this place.”
“Right.”
“And you think one of them was in that helicopter?”
“It’s the most likely scenario. We all swore an oath to keep this location secret in case one of us ever needed it.”
“So the man in the helicopter with the machine gun has to be one of them.”
“Or someone one of them sent. Like I said, it’s a hunch.”
She took a few steps, then said what she feared aloud. “They think you killed Cooley.”
“Probably. And now they’ve come to eliminate me so I won’t talk.”
She didn’t know how knowing all this would help them. It only made it more painful for Simon to think a former teammate now wanted him dead.
Except, she realized, it meant that whoever was after them knew this place as well as Simon did.
The idea made her shiver.
Suddenly the concrete walls and floor ended, giving way to rough craggy surfaces beyond.
“What’s this?”
“We discovered this natural cave and built the escape passage into it.” He put his bags down again and riffled through them. After a while, he drew out two helmets with lights on them. Miner’s hats.
He handed one to her. “We’ll have to use these now.”
Gingerly she took the helmet from him and examined it. It wasn’t much of a fashion statement, but she put it on anyway and switched on the lamp.
A deep rocky cavern appeared before her.
Beside her, Simon took in the passage. “The cave runs under this part of the Andes and opens on the other side of the range.”
“How far does it go?”
“About twenty miles.”
Mmm. “You did say there would be a lot of walking.”
“Yes, I did.”
“We’d better get going then.” She reached for her suitcase and stepped onto the stoney floor. The last thing she wanted was to spend the night in a cave.
Chapter Six
They walked for hours.
Through the dark stoney passage, water dripping in the distance, an occasional bat flying overhead.
They took a few breaks, drank more water, ate energy bars Simon produced from one of his magic duffel bags.
Again, Simon said little. He must have a plan or was constructing one in his head. She couldn’t guess what it might be. All she knew was that somehow they had to prove he didn’t kill Cooley. They had to find out who did.
If the man in the helicopter didn’t kill them first.
Night must have fallen by the time they reached the end of the cave.
It was the end, all right.
Instead of the rocky hole she’d been expecting, another flat iron wall loomed before them.
Had Simon’s team sealed off the only exit all those years ago? And didn’t tell him?
“We’re trapped,” she breathed, trying not to let him see her nerves.
“It’s an illusion to deter intruders.” Simon stepped over to the cave wall and ran his hands over the rock. “Here it is.”
He pushed against a small boulder, making it slowly spin in place. Gears began to moan. Rocks began to creak. And slowly the wall rose and disappeared into the ceiling as light spilled into the cave.
Janelle couldn’t believe it.
Before them stood another concrete compartment, a little smaller than the one they had started in hours ago, with the same fluorescent lighting overhead. Again another iron door stood where the exit should have been.
And in the middle of the space sat a jeep painted with military camouflage.
Switching off her headlamp, she stared at the fresh dust on its tires. “That hasn’t been sitting here for ten years.”
“No.”
“How did it get here then?”
“Delivery.”
Someone else knew about this place? “Simon, I don’t think—”
“Shh.”
He moved over to the door, ran his hands over the metal surface, pressed his ear to it.
Then he moved to the adjacent wall. He smoothed it with his hands in the same way and pressed a button he’d found.
A screen appeared on the wall over his head. It displayed a dark rocky area.
“Is that outside? The other side of that wall?”
Nodding, he scowled. “We should have installed more cameras.”
Now she understood what he was thinking. The men in the helicopter could be on the other side of that opening. But even with the cameras, they couldn’t be seen in the dark.
“And maybe some lights?”
He shook his head. “That would give our location away.”
Meaning someone on the outside would know there was someone on the inside about to come out when the lights switched on.
“Do you really think the men in the helicopter are out there waiting for us?”
He shrugged. “It’s what I would do.”
And if one or both of them had been on Sloan’s team ten years ago, he would know exactly where the tunnel led.
“We should wait until morning. We’ll have daylight then.”
He gave her a sour look. “We have to go now.”
He tossed his duffel bags into the back of the jeep, took her suitcase and wedged it in next to them. Then he opened the first bag and pulled out two pairs of night vision goggles.
He handed her one, and she exchanged the cave headlamp for it.
She wanted to argue, but Simon looked like he knew what he was doing. She adjusted the gear on her head, putting the binocular-like goggles in the raised position, since the lights here were on. Then she turned to Simon and sucked in her breath.
He was pulling two large guns from one of the bags.
AK-47s, if she wasn’t mistaken.
He handed one to her. “Do you know how to use this?”
She knew it wasn’t the same as her handgun. “I had some training with rifles in my first job at the local police department back home.”
For a second, he seemed impressed. Then he pointed to the latch above the magazine. “Here’s the safety. It’s got the standard thirty rounds. Watch out for the recoil.”
Nice lesson. But she thought she could handle it. For some reason, she had a natural instinct for weapons. “Okay.”
He got inside the jeep’s drivers side and started the engine. The off-road vehicle came to life like a wildcat woken from sleep.
Simon hopped out again. “When I open the door, you take that side and I’ll take this one.”
“Got it.”
“Use the jeep for cover if necessary.”
“Okay.” She felt like a private in the Army whose CO was barking orders at her.
But her stomach began to quiver as she took her place at the far wall. Simon pulled a switch and the room went dark. She adjusted the goggles and waited.
A minute went by.
“Work, dammit,” Simon hissed.
“What’s wrong?” she whispered loudly.
“The door’s jammed. I know it’s the right code.” He banged his fist against the wall in frustration.
She squinted across the space and saw he was fiddling with a panel next to the screen on the wall. “There’s a code?”
“Yes. I know it’s right.”
“Did whoever deliver the jeep know it?”
“The code to get in from the outside is different.�
� He pushed buttons again, but the door didn’t budge.
“Don’t the men in the helicopter know it, too?”
“The codes are changed regularly.”
“Are you sure the men in the helicopter didn’t get it from the delivery man?”
“If they had, they would be in here.” He slammed his fist against the wall again.
That made sense. It had to be a malfunction of some sort. Something came to her. “Reboot it.”
“What?”
“Reboot the system. It always worked for Becker.” Becker had worked with her in the Parker Agency and was the sharpest computer guy she knew. On their last case together, his technical intuition had saved both their lives as well as countless others.
Simon stared at her as if she were crazy. Then he shrugged. “It’s worth a try.”
He turned back to the wall and pressed some more beeping buttons.
The screen went black, the lights flickered off, the humming stopped.
Suddenly the outside door began to rise.
Sloan raised his weapon and began to move. “The code’s registering. Take cover.”
She pulled down her goggles and everything turned a dark filmy green. Sweeping her rifle back and forth, she inched toward the cave’s opening. She saw nothing before her. Just a grainy green atmosphere.
She took a few more steps.
She was outside now. The air was cold and dusty. The wind blew her hair over her face.
She looked up and saw the craggy side of a mountain rising into the night sky. She looked down and saw a narrow dirt road on a ledge that ran alongside the mountain.
She was standing at the edge of it.
All at once, Simon’s grip was on her arm. “Careful. It’s a long way down.”
“I can see that.” She drew in a breath to steady a sudden surge of nerves.
He put his arm around her and guided her back toward the cave door.
“There’s no one here,” she said to him, giving in to the press of his embrace. It felt so good.
“No.” His gaze ran tenderly over her face. He looked like he wanted to kiss her. But as much as she longed for that, there was no time.
“We have to get out of here.”
She nodded. “Right.”
“You’ll have to stand guard while I drive.”
He thought they could still be ambushed. “Okay.”
They hurried back to the jeep. Janelle climbed in and readied her weapon while Simon carefully eased the vehicle onto the dirt road.
He pressed a remote contraption, the cave door went down, and they drove off into the night, making their way down the narrow path alongside the mountain.
She stayed alert, but no one was following them. No one jumped out shooting from a rock or a tree. It should have been a relief. Instead the obvious question tormented her mind.
Where were the men in the helicopter?
Chapter Seven
After navigating their way down the mountain through switchbacks and treacherous curves, they reached flat land and began crossing miles of windy dry plains.
Hours later, they reached a village.
As they drove through the nearly deserted streets with its colorful shops and small buildings, Janelle realized this was the place where they’d picked up supplies a few days ago. So they were in Argentina now. The Pampas, she’d heard Simon call it.
Why had he come here?
It was late. Almost midnight, and most of the buildings were dark. But one squat, white stucco structure was open, where she could hear peppy music and see colorful neon beer signs flashing in the windows. A tavern.
Simon parked the jeep alongside the road near the entrance.
He was about to get out when she reached for him. “Simon. What are we doing here?”
He turned to her, determination on his face. “I need to see someone.”
“Who?”
“A friend.”
She let out a huff of frustration. “I thought you had lost your friends.”
“Not this one. This one I trust.”
“And you think he’s in there?”
“I know he’s in there.” He opened the door.
Hoping he was right, she got out of the jeep and followed him inside.
The bar was small and quiet and smelled of liquor and exotic cigars. The decor was cheap dark paneling illuminated by beer signs like the ones in the windows outside. The music came from an old jukebox in the corner, and when the song ended, the place fell silent.
There were only a few customers. Three men sat at a table in the corner smoking and playing cards. A waitress in another corner concentrated on wrapping silverware in napkins.
There was only one other person besides the bartender.
Alone at the bar sat a big, muscled man in a coarse brown poncho, work jeans, and cowboy boots. His thick white gray hair fell to his shoulders, and was held back from his face with a bold blue-and-white bandana around his head. The stark colors contrasting with his dark leathery skin told Janelle he spent most of his time outdoors. From the lines in his face, she’d guess he was in his sixties.
His presence dominated the whole room.
Simon walked up to him.
The man turned and eyed him and then her with a troubled look. “Hello, Simon. You and Señora hermosa are back soon.” His voice was as rugged as his face and his accent was American.
Simon leaned on the bar and spoke softly. “There’s a problem.”
“I gathered that. What is it?”
He glanced around the bar. “Can we talk in private?”
For a long moment the man eyed her as if sizing up whether he could trust her. “I assume you both will need a place to stay for the night?”
“That would be convenient.”
He swallowed the remainder of his drink and got to his feet. “My wife will be happy to meet you,” he said with a good dose of sarcasm.
Then he led them back out the door.
They followed him in the jeep over a dusty path into the lands surrounding the village.
As Janelle watched the taillights of the man’s muddy pickup truck, nerves rippled through her.
“Who is he, Simon?”
Simon made a slow turn at a deserted crossroad. “He goes by the name Tiziano. Roughly translated, it means ‘Defender’. He was the leader of the project ten years ago.”
Janelle nearly gasped. “You mean building the cabin and the cave?”
Simon nodded. “It was his last assignment before retiring here.”
She couldn’t believe it. That man, who looked like he’d stepped out of an old Western, was an FBI agent?
And then she felt even more uneasy. “And so there’s another person who knows about that location.”
Simon scowled. “Tiziano can be trusted. He was a mentor to me back then. He knows all the ins and outs of the Bureau. He spent most of his life in it. His last few years he served out of Buenos Aires.”
“There’s an FBI office in Buenos Aires?” She wasn’t sure where the city was located, but she knew it was Argentina’s capital.
“It’s an attaché office in the US Embassy. Standard location for our work outside the states.”
She wasn’t sure whether that was comforting news or not. Something else dawned on her. “Tiziano’s the one who delivered this jeep to the cave.”
Again he nodded. “The day after we got to the cabin. He insisted on it in case things didn’t go as planned.”
She guessed she should be grateful for that. She rubbed her arms. “Why did he call me Señora hermosa?”
“It means ‘beautiful woman’.”
She scoffed. “He was hitting on me?”
“Just appreciating you.” Simon gave her a warm tempting smile. The first smile he’d given her in days. It made her heart melt.
Though she’d rather be appreciated for her skills. “What do you think he can do for us?”
“I’m hoping he’ll tell us that.”
Ch
apter Eight
After what seemed like another hour, the pickup pulled up to a homey single-story house on an open field with its lights burning brightly.
Simon stopped the jeep, they got out, and Tiziano came to help them with their bags.
As they headed up the path to the front door, Janelle noticed the wind blowing an animal odor their way. She thought she heard sheep bleating in the distance. Their host must be a rancher. Convenient cover.
They stepped inside and were greeted by a tall woman with long dark hair curling around a face that was almost as wizened as their host.
She wore dark slacks and a flowing blouse with interesting scarlet colored embroidery that Janelle instantly fell in love with. Her shoes were multi-metallic slippers.
After regarding the two newcomers with sharp dark eyes, she rose up on tiptoe and gave Tiziano a demonstrative kiss on the cheek. “Ha. Only you would bring me houseguests in the middle of the night.”
Tiziano chuckled and kissed her back, then turned to them. “This is my wife, Sofia. This is Janelle Wesson and Simon Sloan.”
Simon extended a hand toward the woman. “Sorry to inconvenience you, ma’am.”
She gave his hand a hearty shake and batted the air. “Nonsense. You are one of us. Both of you.”
One of them? What did that mean? And when had Simon told Tiziano her name?
“You look hungry,” Sofia said. “I’m just heating up the locro. Come.”
Gesturing for them to follow, she led them into a cozy dining room paneled in blond wood. Most of the room was taken up by a long table covered with a cloth featuring big pink roses. Janelle could see a kitchen through the far doorway and she smelled something delicious.
On the opposite wall stood a whatnot stuffed with photos. To one side were pictures of two little boys with miniature burrows. As the photos progressed to the whatnot’s other side, so did the boy’s growth. Finally they appeared as adults in each other’s wedding and then seated on horses. Tiziano and Sofia’s wedding photo was there as well.
“Your family?” Janelle asked.
Sofia nodded. “My sons. They live on the ranch and help with the work. Someday it will be theirs.”
Tiziano took his wife’s hand and kissed it. “This lovely lady was kind enough to marry me after I retired, and I got a family and a ranch to boot.”
Escape from Danger Page 3
