by Hawk, Nate
He knew it wasn’t her fault but he didn’t want a daily reminder, either. When left with no other option, she had the same homicidal tendencies for aggressors that he did. She had put a couple of guys out colder than even he was accustomed to doing. He knew that was saying something.
If the two hadn’t pursued the Roberts clan together, who knows, things may have turned out differently between them. Once they had fought and bled beside each other, their romantic life had changed. He didn’t want to remember but he couldn’t forget either.
So it wasn’t unprecedented when she came up behind him that evening, wrapping her arms around him and lightly touching his waist. He immediately became uncomfortable and felt guilty. Like Jen might bust through the door and catch them in the act. He even looked towards the entryway, in some inner reflex of culpability. He wasn’t going to use her. Besides, he couldn’t have some weirdness in the foxhole the next day.
“Look, we shouldn’t,” he said.
“It’s for you, not me,” she countered.
“We can’t have emotions tomorrow. Our lives depend on it.”
“I agree. I know how a man’s mind works. I can’t have you running around, watching my ass or whatever, with a month of backlog in your system. You’ll get us both killed.”
The last comment surprised Kelly. He found himself reevaluating his position on their friendship or whatever it was. She certainly was judicious. Had he been wrong about Brooke? His body was beginning to say yes, one inch at a time. However, what did his mind think? No one seemed to be home to man the post. Had something between them changed?
Kelly eventually understood that nothing really had changed. He still didn’t want to be attached to a woman that he wasn’t truly interested in a future with. Besides, they knew too much about each other’s past. Ironically, she was just too hardened for him.
But he lost his train of thought at that point as her hands continued lower, disappearing somewhere behind him. She turned him around with a kind of shove on his shoulder. He found himself with his back on his kitchen refrigerator not knowing what to say.
“I…, don’t know…,” he stammered around without gaining any traction.
“Just shut-up, then. This is mission preparation,” she said.
Kelly sighed, caught without words. He felt something building within his chest.
“Just relax,” she added.
Then she stopped talking. She unfastened his belt and unzipped his pants. She left them on him but quickly realized he had no underwear. She wanted to give him a look but she wasn’t about to build some fantasy in his mind by making eye contact. Or give him the satisfaction of her looking up from the submissive position that she had taken in front of him. She wasn’t trying to be sensual and he wasn’t trying to drag it out. He squirmed a few times and then he started breathing heavily. She knew how he liked it and she kept at it until he was forced to push her off of him in mercy. He was clearly satisfied so she stood up and went to the bathroom.
A few minutes went by before she walked back into the kitchen.
She said, “Don’t mess it up by looking at me like a puppy dog.”
They both laughed gently as Kelly regained his breath and focus. He felt relieved physically but the emotions in his chest continued to build up. She could see on his face that he must be thinking of Jen. He kept a stern expression but his eyes reddened as a few stray tears rolled down his face. He felt like that was it. Everything that he and Jen had shared, had vanished completely.
Brooke put her arm around him and held him hard. It didn’t feel like being held by a girlfriend. It was different than anything he had ever felt before, but it seemed mostly materialistic.
Brooke had a degree in psychology so she was confident in her approach. She knew Kelly’s mind had to be somewhat clear for the following day to go as they wanted it to. That night the two of them shared Kelly’s bed. He laid on his back, mostly looking at the ceiling and again failing to fall into a deep sleep. Brooke had rolled over on her side with her back to Kelly, stealing the covers from him in the process. She slept alone and she slept peacefully. The coldness on half of Kelly’s body just gave him something else to think about while he lay there awake. He continued planning their upcoming mission.
***
Chapter 42
Niko had woven a tangled web of crisscrossing mass transit routes in an effort to elude law enforcement. He had kept his collar turned up when he arrived at the various stations and his hat pulled down. He hadn’t dawdled but he hadn’t paced around nervously, either. To anyone else he would have appeared to be just another anonymous traveler. In fact, Niko was so adaptable that he had gotten a decent night’s rest at the youth hostel. Although he was older than most of the backpackers there, it hadn’t mattered. He spun the college-aged kids some yarn about finding his inner-self. He knew how to manipulate his appearance into something they could grasp. They seemed to believe every word. Niko said he was exploring southern Germany on his own for the next few days. Afterwards, he said, he would be going to Spain to walk Jacob’s Trail, in an effort to rediscover what’s important in life. The kids told him he was “cool” and encouraged him to carry on finding himself.
He told them he’d been robbed of his backpack and while he was waiting for a money transfer he’d picked up his current outfit at a used clothing store. Heck of a deal for such a nice suit, he’d said with a contagious laugh. He’d mentioned that the hostel had taken the last of his money and he was on the way to Western Union the next morning. He got a couple of invites to explore the local area with the backpackers but he politely declined. Yeah right you dopers, is what he was thinking. Yet he did have a purpose for the conversations as the hostel guests sat around telling their own tall tales. He needed a way to get to a nearby city. He was hoping one of them would be headed that direction in a car but he was disappointed when he realized none of them had personal transportation.
So, he had one leg of his journey left and he found his options to be limited. He knew continuing on mass transit to his final location would be suicide for him. There were too many cameras and he didn’t want to leave a digital trail. Additionally, he was well aware that a dumb move like that would lead law enforcement directly to the rest of his new team.
So it came down to two options. The first would be taking a taxi to the next town. While it would limit the digital surveillance aspect, the plan had other problems. Namely two single points of potential failure. The taxi driver might remember such a trip due to its length. Additionally, the taxi’s headquarters might remember the trip because the driver would be out of service for quite some time as he returned. Every way that Niko analyzed the idea it just seemed that taking a taxi was a bad idea. He might as well use a pay phone to call in his location and wait on the police. He carefully considered his second option.
Immediately, he saw it was a good idea. He began walking to the touristy side of the city.
***
Early that morning, the CIA team was stuck in Stuttgart. Even though Niko had snuck between the cracks of their dragnet, they were highly skilled agents. Rick Quinn had thrown them together because he trusted them. Then Quinn had piled on a difficult task with no real prep time for the group. Additionally, a new agent had been brought in but Owen lacked the genuine experience of tracking international terrorists while blending in with the locals. With all of the challenges, they were having trouble getting in front of the curve. Even so, the team’s mentality was to do the best with what they had. They all knew that they needed to push harder.
The PAG team immediately saw that Niko was trying to lose them through the public transit labyrinth. They were in tow, having just arrived at the main station in Stuttgart. The agents had already been around the city searching the usual haunts for their man. They were now sure Niko had moved on from Stuttgart. They were analyzing digital surveillance data in an effort to pinpoint him. Once he was spotted, they would pursue him from that location. He had to stop somewhe
re. And so, one camera angle at a time, they had searched and searched, until they had identified him. They realized Niko was a chameleon. He was capable of blending in and walking right by without anyone taking notice.
He even adjusted the way that he walked so his profile and gait looked different on camera. It had taken some time to find the video feeds around the many transportation hubs, but they were pros. The team followed him with the van, now in a northerly direction through Heidelberg and on to Mannheim. They continued driving north on E451 towards Frankfurt. Noting a rest stop on the outskirts, they parked there.
“Look,” Laura said as she pointed to the man they all knew on the screen. “That’s him.”
Angelo was watching the screen carefully and he confirmed, “Definitely. I’ll bring him up on this other angle.”
“Where?” Owen asked as he looked over.
“There by the door.”
“There’s that son-of-a-bitch,” Angelo said. “You’re busted!” he said as if Niko were listening.
Laura watched Niko on the screen and said, “Every other time he gets to a new transit station he buys three tickets in different directions.” Let’s try not to chase around any more bullshit leads, she thought. Angelo was fast on the computer. He let the camera continue to roll and asked Owen to keep an eye on it in case Niko appeared again. Simultaneously, Angelo Young pulled up the bus station video feeds for further analysis. This time it was notably quicker to determine where he had gone. Owen was using the fast forward button and was skimming through the train station feed with no luck. Angelo found Niko buying a bus ticket. He looked up the departure times on another page. Then he pulled up various camera angles. He adjusted them to the appropriate boarding times and found Niko boarding a bus to Saarbrucken.
“That asshole has doubled back,” Angelo noted.
“Again,” Laura ascertained without need. “We’re going back and forth like a boomerang.”
She was in charge and she knew that she had to sound like she was. To her though, it sounded like Niko was calling the shots.
“It’s getting late. He’s got to be exhausted. I’m guessing he will look for a place to bed down in Saarbrucken. Let’s head that way.” Their driver took the next exit. He crossed over the Autobahn and merged into traffic, now going the opposite direction. Laura knew he would be there. Now they just had to find him.
***
Chapter 43
Around 2 a.m., Kelly had climbed out of bed after very little satisfying rest. Despite his lack of sleep, he felt OK. He knew the excitement of the upcoming mission had dumped chemicals into his blood stream. It was nature’s way of keeping him sharp. He stood up and pulled on his khaki operator pants. They were a pair of cargo trousers that he had found to be indestructible. Well worth any premium that he had paid and they seemed to become more comfortable every time he wore them. He fastened a couple buttons on his polo shirt and tucked it in. He wanted to make sure that he looked sharp for the drive. He knew law enforcement would eye him in a friendlier manner. Hopefully it was enough not to be hassled. If they were pulled over, he was sure that his police ID would keep them out of trouble.
Brooke was lying in bed like a rock, which she was in a metaphorical and emotional sense. She was tough. Physically though, she looked more like a flower than the bedrock of the earth. He was confident that she was tough and smart enough to survive the upcoming mission. Damn, I hope I’m right about that, he thought. He piled their gear by the door. The two rifles were in a single guitar case in which Kelly had cut Styrofoam in an effort to both hold the case’s form and to protect the guns. If it wasn’t for the camouflaged packs they might have looked like a two-piece traveling band. He could break the guns down later but he wanted quick access to them once they arrived to sight them in. The ACOGs had been placed on their receivers. Kelly had laser sighted them in on the wall of his apartment. They wouldn’t be exactly on yet, but they were close. A few more adjustments and they would be perfect. He knew the scope to be a damn fine combat optic.
He brewed coffee and was able to come up with a bowl of what was only half-stale cereal. He had cleaned out a refrigerator full of rotten produce and dairy items on his first day back in his apartment. In the meantime, he just hadn’t made time to go grocery shopping. Grabbing a half-gallon of milk at the gas station was about all he had done. He poured the rest of the pot of coffee into a stainless steel thermos for the long drive. He walked in the room where Brooke was sleeping. Then he kneeled down by her face and put his hand on her shoulder.
“It’s me,” he said. “It’s time.”
He knew how it would go. She was startled and jumped at first. She took a jab at Kelly but he had been prepared to deflect it harmlessly. She quickly realized there was no threat.
“Sorry,” she said with a sleepy sincerity.
“No worries. Let’s get going,” he said casually.
Brooke eyed the clock on the nightstand, trying to connect her mind to how her body felt.
“Two-thirty,” she said, halfway between a statement and a question.
She sat up and shifted her feet to the side of the bed.
“All right. I’m up,” she said softly as she rubbed her eyes.
“I’ve got coffee and cereal,” he said feeling as if he was reliving his college days.
“Tempting, but I’ll pass,” Brooke said sarcastically. “I’ll try to sleep in the truck so I’m fresh. You mind driving?”
“I figured I’d draw the short straw this time of morning,” Kelly said matter-of-fact. “Glad to.”
Brooke faked a smile that looked like a faked smile.
She said, “Ok. I’ll get something to eat later.”
The two of them walked towards the door. Kelly grabbed the thermos and then walked to his pack. He swung it on his shoulders. Brooke was slightly slower than him but with some extra effort, she duplicated his action. He would have offered to hold her pack while she climbed in the shoulder straps but she wouldn’t have wanted that. She would have thought it was a sign of weakness. Man, she is some kind of enigma. What woman isn’t though, he thought, suppressing a grin.
Her vehicle drove like a log truck compared to his sports car. She had told Kelly that the GMC had some type of suspension lift, which was evident at first look. The package included oversized tires that came with a measurement in the mid-thirties, whatever that meant. Probably inches in diameter, Kelly thought. Predictably, he had quickly found that it didn’t corner like his Magnum. Or accelerate like his Magnum. But alternatively, it likely wouldn’t get stuck in six inches of mud like his car would either. Plus they would have a better field of view, sitting higher off the ground.
Population density was high across the first few states they had travelled through. Everything seemed small, kind of like Europe. Everyone seemed to be in the usual East Coast hurry. No one seemed to appreciate the big truck driving in front of them either. Cars constantly zoomed around them. The drive was hilly and eventually gave way to the weathered Appalachian mountains. They weren’t as rugged and stark as the Rockies were. However, the mountains sure had a mystique about them; like they sheltered all types of secrets in their back roads and hollows. As the population thinned and was replaced by nature, Kelly was taken back to the last time they had taken off on a similar trip together. It was a hidden memory that he had no real desire to reprocess.
Kelly had calculated that the trip would take them about ten hours to complete in Brooke’s truck. With his driving habits and a couple of stops for fuel and food, they should arrive before dark. Both had studied the satellite maps as Kelly explained where they would infiltrate the compound. They knew exactly where they were going and exactly how to get there. There would just be one or two quick stops on the way.
Kelly’s Intel indicated that he could find some answers to Niko’s whereabouts in the community center that was located in the middle of the compound. He had been able to secure a detailed copy of the FBI’s topographical maps from Steven. That
had been simple since Steven had just penetrated the compound several months before, albeit by helicopter. Kelly reasoned that visitors would likely stay in the wing of the main building that resembled a hotel. It could have been used as a brothel too, he considered, knowing their history of kidnapping and human trafficking. So during the drive, he was spending the time mentally preparing for what actions had to be taken for them to survive and obtain the information that he needed. He was pretty sure where the action would start. There was no way for him to know where it would end. He knew in order to get the info that he needed he would have to remain adaptable and quick on his feet. In some ways he was looking forward to the upcoming interrogation of… He paused looking through his notes for the name. Ah yes, the interrogation of one Abbas Zaki.
Brooke pivoted the passenger seat up when Kelly stopped for gas. They had made good time and were then about forty miles south of Washington DC, near Fredericksburg, VA. The stop and go traffic through the larger cities had translated into stop and go sleep for Brooke. She was topped off though and the excitement was setting in for her too. Both found themselves ready to climb down from the truck and stretch out.
“I’ll get the gas,” Kelly said, knowing there were dual tanks.
“Thank you. I’ll buy lunch,” she countered.
She didn’t want to start arguing about who was paying. That would be too much like a relationship, again.
“You want to go in and sit down or take it to go?” he asked.
Kelly put the gas nozzle into the truck’s reservoir. Then he leaned heavy against the truck and balanced most of his weight on one leg.
