Twelve Shades of Midnight:

by Liliana Hart

  She fought her panic. “This is so stupid. I can practice on this, but we’re going to have to break into buildings. I may have to go through walls…or steel doors. What if I can’t do that? What if I get stuck?”

  “You’ll be fine,” he insisted, hoping he wasn’t lying to her. “First just pass your hand through the blanket, then your whole body. After that, we’ll move on to the sleeping bag.”

  “Doubled?”

  “How about single first?”

  “Okay.”

  “Finally, we’ll try the rock wall near the entrance to the cave. I’m positive you can do all of them.” He refused to let her see his doubts. No. He believed in her.

  “Of course, you’re optimistic,” she groused. “You’re not the one who could be entombed in stone forever. What if I end up with our friends in the back room again without Shaman there to help keep them away?” She bit her lip. “I feel badly for them. They’re so angry. I wish I could help them.”

  “Right now, the best way to help them is to survive. Maybe there’s information somewhere that could help us release their spirits from here.”

  “You don’t think, if the Navajos knew how, they’d have released them already?” Samantha rubbed her arms. The bone-chilling cold was back. It returned whenever she worked on vanishing. The only good part of all this was Alex physically warming her up after each session.

  He stepped closer and held her for a minute. “You can do this.” He ran his hands down her back and pulled her close for another kiss.

  His touch didn’t frighten her anymore. She welcomed it. Maybe being able to hear his thoughts once in a while, when he let his guard down, helped. Some of the scenarios he envisioned scandalized her a bit, but others made her look forward to the night.

  Samantha wasn’t about to tell him she knew he thought a lot about being with her in every way possible. She just hoped he didn’t realize she thought about it, too.

  “Okay then,” she said finally. “Here we go.”

  He stepped back and spread out the blanket again, matador style.

  “Come on, Shadow Walker. You have a super hero trait and a cool new code name. Show me what you’ve got.”

  She smiled, reached out her arm and concentrated. Her hand disappeared and, seconds later, passed through the blanket, then came back again on this side. “Okay, I’ve got this.”

  “I’m ready when you are.

  This time she focused harder. Her whole arm disappeared, then both arms and she walked forward, until she almost touched the blanket with her body. Her certainty wavered.

  “Come on, Gennaro. Sing with me now,” Alex joked. “You put your right hip in. You put your right hip out. You put your right hip in and you shake it all about.”

  She laughed and some of her tension lessened. “You are such a jerk. All right, here we go.”

  With that, she vanished. The merest ripple of the blanket marked her passage through it. She reappeared on the other side. “I did it!” She jumped up and down. “Did you see that? I went right through.”

  He laughed and hugged her close. “You ready for the sleeping bag?”

  She shook her head. “No. I’m ready for the stone wall.”

  He swallowed hard. “All right. The big time it is.”

  They went over to the cave’s entrance and looked at the ten inch thickness of red stone she’d have to pass through.

  He put his arm around her. “Are you sure? We can always go back to the sleeping bag first.”

  “No. I want to do this. We’re running out of time before we need to leave.” She took a deep breath. “Shadow Walker, huh? All right. Here I go.”

  He watched in fascination as her body became more and more transparent. He could see the dark orange and white swirls of the rock right through her.

  Her teeth chattered, but determination kept her going. She moved toward the wall, then vanished into it.

  He raced to the entrance and stopped. She’d walked through the wall and reappeared, right in front of two huge mountain lions and a ring of several rattlesnakes.

  If Begay hadn’t sent them, she was dead.

  The late afternoon sun shone down on the New Mexican high desert compound. The fading light painted the surrounding rocks in intense shades of pinks, oranges and reds. Admiral Midnight didn’t care about the view. The fact that no one lived out here, made the place perfect for his needs.

  The attack on Winters, Gennaro and possibly that freaky Indian, Begay, couldn’t come too soon. Admiral Midnight smiled. His latest super-soldiers boarded the three waiting helicopters, each man determined to carry out his mission or die trying.

  Midnight sighed. Mind control was a wonderful thing.

  Of all the serums he’d tested, it was his favorite. He eliminated any men it didn’t work well enough on, which kept things running smoothly.

  Death made a great deterrent.

  The Admiral stood far enough back from the helicopters to avoid the rotor wash. Dirt and grit kicked up by the whirling blades glinted in the intense sunset and the glare of spotlights now illuminating the choppers and the cadre of desert camouflaged soldiers climbing inside.

  Midnight turned to Carleton. “Lieutenant Commander, you’re in charge of this operation. Don’t screw it up. This is your last chance. If you don’t get your shit together fast, The command will go to your buddy Benson. Got me?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Midnight liked the little quake of fear he sensed in the man. Good. He should be scared. If the idiot didn’t pull through this time, he was dead.

  “Split up once you’re on the reservation,” Midnight ordered. “Cover all the main roads and any buildings off to the side. There’s just enough moonlight to navigate by. Listen to your gut about checking out the canyons. They’re good places to hide.”

  “I just wish there weren’t so damn many of them.”

  Midnight frowned. Carleton was making excuses already. Not a good sign. “Maybe you’ll flush Winters out and he’ll make it easy on you.”

  “Ice Man doesn’t work that way, and if Begay is with him, they probably already know we’re heading out.”

  “Never mind the vision bullshit. Just bring them back to me. Fly dark. Use the infrared sensors and look for abnormal heat signatures. Find the bastard and let’s end this. If we bag Begay and the woman, that’s even better. The hunt will be over and there will be no one left to stop us.”

  The Lieutenant Commander hesitated. “Are you sure we can go onto Navajo land without starting a war. That is sovereign land. Don’t we need their permission to bring armed troops onto the reservation?”

  “I haven’t asked permission for anything I’ve done yet,” Midnight retorted. “I’m sure as hell not starting now. These SEALs are AWOL, as far as I’m concerned. The Navy thinks they’re dead, and I intend to keep it that way.”

  “How can we be sure they’re on the reservation?”

  “You saw the satellite info yourself. We tracked Winter’s vehicle heading for the Four Corner’s area, straight onto the reservation. If Winters has Begay with him, it would make sense to go there and hide out for a while, thinking they’d be safe from us.”

  “But—”

  Midnight frowned. “This stalling is pissing me off, Carleton. You’re not chickening out on me, are you?”

  The officer’s face blanched. “No, sir. I’ll see what we can find.”

  “Remember, if you or the other teams don’t locate them, we’ll have to send in troops on foot to search. That’s going to cause problems our mission doesn’t need. This op calls for stealth. I want it finished tonight.”

  Carleton stiffened. “I’ll do what I can, sir.”

  Midnight barely kept from smacking the guy. Benson was looking like a better and better choice all the time. But, Carleton knew his former SEAL team members. How they thought. The tricks they’d try. The little shit would live for now. “Concentrate on the areas Begay knows best. He’d be more likely to hide someplace familiar. If you s
ee Winters’ abnormal heat signature anywhere, send the men down the ropes. We’ve enhanced their capabilities a lot in the last few days.”

  “What do we do about their strange powers?” Carleton asked. “Winters does lightning, fire and god knows what else. We have no clue what Begay can do now.”

  “These renegade SEALs don’t stand a chance against my men. Even if Winters and Begay both have super powers coming out their asses, my men have their own specialties. Believe me, no one comes back from the death I have planned for those two. If we can’t trap Begay and Winters, then we’ll kill them. But, no matter what, bring me the woman alive.”

  The sun was setting. The canyon and jagged were aglow with color, but all Samantha saw were the piercing yellow eyes of the big cat staring her down. No friendly greeting was forthcoming. Instead a snarl echoed off the canyon walls. Another smaller mountain lion stood behind, crouched and read to pounce.

  Rattlesnakes slithered across each other, then spread out to face her, their rattles giving off ominous sounds.

  “Don’t move.” Alex ordered. “I can hit most of them from here, if I have to.”

  The standoff continued. The mountain lions both in attack mode.

  Suddenly, a wolf’s howl could be heard from the ledge above the cave’s entrance.

  Samantha didn’t move. She just prayed Begay had returned and another predator hadn’t come to the party. Goose bumps rose all over her as she prepared to disappear in case they attacked. That would give Alex a clear shot.

  “White men never listen. What part of ‘Don’t come out of the cave’ did you two not understand?”

  Samantha heard a low hum that may have been speech of some kind, but it was far too faint to really hear. The rattles stopped and the snakes slithered across the ground, disappearing into the surrounding rocks formations. The huge male cougar rose slowly, flicked an irritated glance toward the wolf standing on the rocks above Samantha, then, with a snarl, the mountain lion stalked away. Its mate followed.

  Moments later, Begay joined them in human form.

  Samantha’s eyes widened. Damn, he was gorgeous, too. The sun shone on his bronzed skin, revealing the same well-toned muscles that she found so fascinating on Alex. These guys could work for Chippendales.

  Begay grinned and Alex scowled, and Samantha belatedly realized she hadn’t guarded her thoughts.

  “Oh, spare me. You guys are jerks.” Her cheeks must be flaming red.

  Begay laughed. “We may be jerks, but we’re gorgeous ones. Thanks for the compliment. Best thing I’ve heard all day.”

  He turned to Alex. “That was a little too close. You almost fried them. Good thing you didn’t set fire to the snakes. That’s taboo.”

  “I had the right to defend myself—and her.”

  Begay nodded. “Just know that, according to legend you would have developed a terrible rash, like the one you had in Kandahar last year.”

  Alex crossed his arms over his chest. “Okay, TMI, Shaman. Enough with the tales.”

  Begay’s face darkened. “It’s far more than tales, Ice Man. You, especially, should revere these snakes. They came to protect and honor you.”

  “Why me?”

  “My People believe snakes are in touch with the supernatural and are the earthly manifestations of the Lightning People. They recognize the lightning power within you and respect your gift.”

  “Then why did it look like they wanted to attack us?” Alex asked.

  “They offered to guard you as long as you stayed inside the cave and did not look at them.”

  Alex grunted. “Would have been good to stress that fact a little more, Shaman. I almost fried all of them.”

  “Remember, Ice Man, you are no longer on your own territory. Proceed with care. You could break taboos and create consequences that you know nothing about. Burning the snakes would have dried up the rains, deprived us of live giving rains and the water we need to survive.”

  The sun sank lower on the horizon and the wind whipped small dust devils that traveled across the canyon floor.

  Begay suddenly stiffened and his eyes looked blank for a moment. When they cleared, he seemed very angry. “You must leave now. Get off the reservation as fast as you can. You will have to take back roads when you can.”

  “We have a map with us. Which way should we go?”

  “You will know soon.”

  “Okay, on that enigmatic note, we’ll pack up.”

  “Do so quickly. Danger rides the night sky. They are coming for you.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Carleton checked the coordinates. The helicopters were about to enter the air space over the Navajo Reservation.

  Sweat coated his palms as he clicked the earpiece connecting him with the three pilots to continue his orders. “Remember, Begay lived close to the Four Corners region, so concentrate your search there. But that doesn’t mean that they’re not hiding elsewhere or traveling on the highways. Back roads are difficult to traverse at night, but not impossible. Don’t rule out anything. Over.”

  “Roger that.”

  The other team leaders also confirmed they’d received the information.

  Carleton glanced at the terrain below and checked it against the maps. “It’s time to split up. You all have maps designating the most likely places they’ll hide. Use the infrared scanners as widely as you can. Commander Winters is no fool, but even he can’t disguise a heat signature five times the size of a regular person. Despite that, this is like a needle in a haystack.”

  Carleton steeled himself for what was to come. “Chopper two, bypass the Hopi reservation to the left. I’ll go up the center. Chopper three, you go right. Refueling trucks will be in place within the hour. Remember, use your tranquilizer guns on Winters and Begay first. You get extra credit for bringing them in alive, but it’s no skin off my nose if you can’t. The girl lives, no matter what. Those are your orders.”

  The lieutenant commander went silent, and the hatred in him rose like acid searing his gut. He wanted Winters dead. If they didn’t find him, he would surely track them down. The Commander had always the perfect soldier. All the men respected him. But now, he had a fierce temper that he barely controlled.

  He needed to die, and soon, because he would never forgive what Carleton had done. If Winters knew what was planned, his anger would never be contained.

  The decrepit truck jolted, almost yanking the steering wheel out of Alex’s hands. He gritted his teeth as the tires hit another pot hole, tossing them around like they were on a carnival ride. The clunker had a great engine, but the shocks were shot to hell.

  This was taking too long.

  He tried not to show Samantha how worried he was.

  He hated leaving the serums behind, but Shaman was right. The flasks, even padded as they were, wouldn’t have survived this back road. The muffler hadn’t, so that joyful sound filled the cab. They were probably breathing carbon monoxide fumes, too, just for fun.

  They’d taken the fastest back road to leave the Reservation, but traveling without headlights slowed them down. The new moon barely shed enough light to see ahead of them.

  Samantha rustled the map on her lap, using a tiny red LED keychain flashlight to check their route. The red lens wouldn’t screw up her night vision.

  She glanced over at Alex, who was barely visible in the faint light from the dashboard. “Are you sure we should go back so close to the way we came? If they tracked us, they could be expecting that.”

  “This is the best back road to exit the Rez, and Begay seemed adamant about us doing that quickly. With this clunker, I doubt they’ll suspect it’s us. When we near a more populated area, we’ll fire up your cell phone for a minute, then maybe we’ll know more.”

  Tension grew between them as they crossed the Navajo Nation land.

  More and more cars appeared, necessitating Alex turning on the headlights, so as not to arouse suspicion.

  Still, he waited until they were nearing Shiprock, New Mex
ico, to have her put the battery back in the phone. From Shiprock, they could take one of several routes, depending on where they needed to go next.

  The cellphone took forever to come back on, but a short time later, it signaled Samantha had a text. She scanned the screen in surprise. “It’s the same coordinates as before,” she said, “I recognize them.” She had to speak loudly enough to be heard over the roar of the missing muffler.

  “Is there a message?”

  She met his gaze. “Hurry. I’m running out of time.”

  Alex tightened his hands on the steering wheel. Was it really her father? Could they trust the information? Most likely, this was the trap Begay warned about earlier.

  Alex glanced Samantha’ way and saw the despair she couldn’t hide. “You okay, Gennaro?”

  “Yeah. I’m fine.” But her voice cracked, giving away her sadness.

  “If he’s there, we’ll find him.” Alex said gently, praying to God she didn’t cry.

  She nodded, but remained silent. Having written the numbers on a paper, she shut down the phone immediately.

  Once she’d taken out the battery, she pored over the outspread map. Another deep pot hole sent rattled the cab. The phone fell to the floor mat and she cursed.

  “You weren’t able to trace the source of the text last time?”

  “No,” she answered. “When I received the message about you, I tried everything. Even called in favors from friends in Tech Crimes, but they got nowhere.” She reached down and retrieved the phone. “This has to be from my father. He gave the phone to me right before he disappeared. No one else has this number.”

  “You really trust your father?”

  She looked Alex straight in the eye. “Implicitly.”

  He wondered what it would be like to have someone believe in him so totally. “What will you do if it’s someone else?”

  She gritted her teeth for a minute. “Then, I’m going to beat the shit out of whoever it is, and take my father with me.”

  He laughed. “Nice temper, Gennaro.”