Terms of Attraction

by Kylie Brant

  He crossed to her then, and scooped up more mud, rubbed it gently across her cheeks. “Seems a shame to cover up this face,” he said huskily.

  She swallowed hard, her hands coming up to clasp around his wrists, stopping him. “McCabe.”

  Stilling, he surveyed her somberly. She drew a deep breath. Let it out in a slow stream. “If you get killed tonight, you are seriously going to piss me off.”

  His mouth kicked up in a one-sided grin and he leaned in for a hard, thorough kiss. When he lifted his mouth, he said huskily, “I know how dangerous your temper is. So I’m going to do my best to stay on your good side.”

  * * *

  They moved silently through the darkened jungle. Cael looked over his shoulder to check on Ava’s progress, found her close behind him. And probably still not thrilled with the plan he’d come up with. But he’d come equipped for the type of rescue he had planned. Not Hollywood’s idea, of course, with mercs carrying clanking ammo belts and Uzis strapped across their chests. But for a silent deadly entry into the camp and hopefully an unnoticed escape, the idea was fast, silent and deadly.

  He halted and handed her a single-bladed knife, keeping the larger, more deadly blade for himself. She took it without comment and slipped it into her belt.

  “We can’t risk using the wrist communicators from here on in,” he cautioned her in a barely audible whisper. He could barely make out her features, darkened as they were with the mud he’d rubbed on them. He knew he looked just as alien with his face blackened and fading into the hood of his gillie suit. “Only shoot if it becomes absolutely necessary. I know you’ve got a flash and sound suppressor, but we don’t want to take any chances.”

  “You mean because you’re already taking such a huge risk yourself?” she muttered.

  He was smart enough to ignore her. “You take up position here. You’re behind and in the center of the three guards who have the best view of the cells from the perimeter. I’ll take care of them before going in.” And anyone else who happened to notice him and tried to sound an alarm.

  “What are you going to do if Reynolds and Perez are in no shape to help once you get them out?” she demanded in a furious whisper. “Unless you’re planning to don a red cape and tights, I don’t think you’re capable of hauling three prisoners out on your back with no one being the wiser.”

  “Let me cross that bridge when I come to it,” he responded evenly. But he knew it wasn’t a matter of if something went wrong on these assignments but when. And he questioned himself whether he could maintain the objectivity needed to abort if necessary, leaving his client and friends to the mercy of the rebels.

  “Just be sure to stay down and out of sight.” He studied her in the darkness, most of the words he wanted to utter remaining unspoken. Hell of a thing for a man to finally figure out what he needed saying at the worst possible moment. “We’ve got some things to iron out when this is over.”

  “When this is over I’m still going to be harboring a serious grudge over this whole mess,” she said. “It’s going to take some pretty smooth talking on your part.”

  Something lightened inside him as he fixed the night-vision goggles over his eyes. “Smooth’s my middle name.”

  * * *

  The first sentry was sloppy. Propped against the trunk of a tree, he was lighting a cigarette when Cael took him out. He dragged his body a little ways away and divested the man of his rifle and ammo. Then he belly-crawled to the next sentry, one excruciating inch at a time. This one was more alert. More of a challenge. When Cael finally reached him and rose, the man, seeming to sense his presence, started to turn, his rifle raised.

  Cael sprang then, the wire in his hands held tight. Their battle was short, vicious and in the end, one-sided. When the guard’s body went limp beneath him he started to rise. Heard a sound not much louder than a polite cough.

  His focus snapped toward the direction of the third guard in time to see him jerk midstride in his race in this direction. Watched him drop to the ground, lie motionless.

  The first thing to go wrong tonight almost had. Chalk one up for Ava.

  He disposed of the bodies and collected the weapons. Dropping to his belly, he crawled a few yards and stashed them in some brush, hoping he got a chance to come back for them. Then he took several minutes to get a look at what was going on down below.

  Two guards were on duty outside the cells. Neither man gave any indication that he’d noticed anything untoward a hundred meters from the camp. This was where the plan got a bit dicier.

  Cael had a moment to hope that Ava was keeping an eye on the guard on the northeast corner of the perimeter. If the man moved to just the right position at exactly the right time, he might get a glimpse of something going on in the camp.

  Cael had to move faster than caution dictated. He couldn’t afford to wait long enough for a shift change. The perimeter guards would notice when three of the soldiers they went to replace were gone.

  Close enough now to hear the occasional murmurs of the sentries standing guard over the cells. He couldn’t catch their words, but their tones were relaxed.

  The first cell held de la Reyes. After the beating he’d taken that day, he’d need assistance getting out of here. Cael bypassed the cell and moved stealthily to the next. Scooping up some of the mud beneath him, he rolled it into little balls and tossed one against the side of the first cell hoping to draw a guard’s attention. Then he waited, muscles alert to an almost painful pitch.

  But nothing happened.

  Swearing silently, he deliberately scuffed a heel on one of the wooden slats on the back of Reynolds’s cell. Heard the guards’ low conversation stop. He saw one rise, round the first cell to check out the noise.

  Knife in hand, Cael was waiting for him. The silent attack was swift and deadly. Holding the man’s limp body in front of him, he waited quietly for the second guard to come looking for the man when he didn’t return.

  “Que usted esta haciendo? Tomar un escape?”

  The other sentry’s low whisper sounded after several minutes.

  Cael waited, barely breathing. A shadow moved across the slats of the cell he leaned against. If Reynolds were in decent shape, he’d be alert to what was transpiring outside his prison. He’d be ready to move at a moment’s notice.

  Cael could hear the other guard’s approach. Cautious. He’d be wary now, since his colleague hadn’t answered. The trick was keeping him from sounding an alarm before Cael could disarm him.

  He drew farther into the space between the first two cells. Leaned the guard’s dead body against the first structure. Waited for the footsteps to round the corner. Cael backed up stealthily and took a quick look at the area in front of the cells. Deserted.

  With one arm he extended his rifle while backing around the front of the president’s cell. Listened for the guard to approach stealthily. He gave the body a jab with his rifle and it fell at the second guard’s feet even as he dodged around the first cell.

  He was behind the second guard even as he crouched to catch his colleague. With a flash of his knife, he dispatched him as quickly as he had the first one.

  Dragging both bodies to the far side of de la Reyes’s cell, he let them lie there before going to Reynolds’s cell, keeping a wary watch on any undue activity in the camp. His face close against the slats of the second cell, he whispered, “Kill zone.”

  There was a moment of silence. Then a barely audible reply. “Hell box.”

  Cael knew better then to reveal his location with a flash of teeth, but he grinned inwardly, relief washing over him. It was Reynolds inside all right. The code was derived from their first experience after BUDS training, arranging ambushes for guerilla rebels.

  Staying low, he reached up and unlatched the cord holding the cell door shut. Reynolds came out low, and the two of them squatted in between the first two cells. Cael handed him the extra rifle he’d taken off the first perimeter sentry he’d taken out. “What’s the lowdown?”r />
  “Fuente’s in on it.”

  Ava had already called that. She’d suspected as much from the beginning.

  “The rebel captain sent a small squad out late this afternoon to take the bitch back to town. Probably to get her reward from Ramirez. He executed two guards today who were on duty last night. Accused them of giving de la Reyes preferential treatment.”

  “I saw it.”

  “The squad is supposed to come back with word from Ramirez about something they want de la Reyes to do.” Reynolds was already picking up the soft mud from the ground and rubbing it on his hands and face.

  “Unfreeze Ramirez’s assets.”

  “If it’s done, he’ll be a dead man.”

  “Not if we get him out of here first. Is Perez here?”

  “In the cell at the far end. I don’t know who’s on the other side of me, but I know he’s an American.”

  They’d take him with them when they left. And it was high time for them to leave. Cael dug into his pack, withdrew two grenades. He handed one to the other man. “We’ll get as far as we can first. The structure in the front left corner is the weapons shed?” He saw Reynolds nod in the shadows. “What about the middle structure? The big one?”

  “Barracks. Captain sleeps in the small building to its right.”

  Cael thought for a split second. It was demoralizing to a unit to lose their commander. And it could send the rebels into disarray. But he was one man. They needed to get rid of as many as possible.

  “If this thing turns into a goat screw, take out the barracks. I’ll take the weapons shed.” In a perfect world they’d release the other prisoners and make their way undetected out of the camp. Some distance away he’d call for military backup and let the choppers provide aerial firepower to take out the camp.

  He’d never encountered a perfect world yet.

  “Carter’s out there providing cover for us.” He belly-crawled around the cells, divested the two guards of their weapons and crawled back, handing one extra rifle to Reynolds. “For Perez.” He took a moment to sit propped up against a cell next to his friend, and looked at him. “Let’s do this.”

  He took the first cell, unhooked the door and ducked in. De la Reyes was slumped inside. He barely stirred at his entrance. There was no time to check on his injuries. Cael got down and lifted the man’s arm around his neck so he could support him and rose again, swiftly exiting the cell. He saw Reynolds give a rifle to Perez, and signal the unknown man to follow them.

  The stranger ran in a crouch toward Cael. “Give me a weapon,” he whispered.

  “Not a chance.” Without knowing exactly who they were dealing with, there was no way he was going to trust him. Instead, he had the man support the president, who seemed only half conscious. “Keep down and stay with us.”

  He led the way, all of them staying low to avoid detection. When he got to the trip wires he signaled the group behind him of their location. The booby traps he’d dismantled earlier on recon.

  As a matter of fact, the lack of problems was almost eerie.

  He’d no sooner had the thought than he heard the faint pop of Ava’s silencer. Turning to look behind him, he saw the body of another perimeter sentry crumple.

  In the next moment all hell broke loose.

  Automatic gunfire sounded. The sentry posted on the front corner perimeter closest to them had opened fire on Ava. Cael saw her hit the ground. Saw the bullet spray kick up mud all around her. His heart stopped.

  He returned fire on the sentry, just before Ava’s rifle sounded again. And a crazy fireball of hope spiraled inside him. “Go, go, go!” Cael waved the others by. He ran in a crouch to Ava’s side, aware that the camp was coming to life behind him.

  “Are you hit?” He ran his free hand frantically over her body, barely registering her answer.

  “I’m fine.”

  “Then move!” He nudged her after the others and turned to find Reynolds alongside him. Each of them pulled the pins of the grenades and heaved them high.

  Soldiers were pouring out of the barracks. Some were already returning fire. He and Reynolds turned and ran, staying low with hands over their ears, wanting to put as much distance between them and the camp as possible.

  Seconds later the grenades exploded and turned the night to flame.

  * * *

  It was a motley looking crew in on the debriefing, Cael noted, gazing around the table. De la Reyes swayed slightly as he sat at the head of the table, his physician hovering around him, trying to conduct a thorough examination. Quintero sat at his side, casting worried glances at the president.

  As for the rest of them…Ava and Reynolds still wore blackening on their faces, as he did himself. Perez’s face was swollen and bruised, although he wasn’t in as bad a shape as de la Reyes. And the stranger they’d rescued looked gaunt, as if he’d been starved for a time. There were fresh-looking scars, healing badly, marring his hands and face.

  Cael looked at Ava. “Tell the doctor when he finishes with the president to look at him.” He jerked his head toward the stranger. He waited for her to translate before adding, “Then he can check you out.”

  She lifted a brow coolly. “I’m fine.”

  “Damn straight,” murmured Reynolds, earning himself a quick look from Cael. The man shrugged. “Dangerous women. It’s a weakness, like I said.”

  Apparently it was a weakness they shared.

  “You took an unnecessary risk with the president’s life,” Quintero said imperiously. “You should have used the militia earlier for the rescue.”

  It was a moment before Cael could shift his attention away from Ava. He wouldn’t be satisfied she was all right until he could check for himself, going over every inch of that exquisite skin again, inch by inch.

  But for the time being, he had to deal with the matter at hand. “I wasn’t going to divulge the coordinates until after we were out of there. I couldn’t risk them coming in too soon and catching us in the cross fire.” And he hadn’t wanted to chance going in with ground units he wasn’t sure he could trust. But he knew better than to say that.

  “That is ridiculous. Our military is highly trained. They could have—”

  “Enough, Ernesto.” Although he was looking much the worse for wear, the president’s voice was authoritative. “Senor McCabe executed the rescue mission flawlessly. And our military handily provided some aerial firepower that helped us leave our pursuers behind.”

  It was an abbreviated explanation for their escape, Cael conceded silently. The choppers hadn’t arrived for well over a half hour after they’d detonated the camp. A harrowing half hour in which they’d had to make their way to freedom hauling injured prisoners while returning fire against the rebels chasing them.

  The president looked at him. “My military commander reported that they rounded up nearly seventy rebels who were not killed in the blast. The police picked up Miss Fuente and her driver. They are in custody.”

  Cael had a moment to wonder if the regret in the man’s voice was for the woman’s fate, or for placing them all at risk by trusting her in the first place. It was doubtful the man would be nearly as trusting of the next female he became involved with.

  “Tell us about the demands Ramirez made. You didn’t release his assets?”

  Quintero shook his head in response to the president’s question. “We drew out the process, as Miss Carter suggested. Pretended there was much bureaucracy to cut through.” He looked at Ava. “The green tape you mentioned.”

  Ava gave the man a slight smile. “Red tape. But yeah. That was exactly right.”

  Cael glanced back at de la Reyes. “We need to check with Justice. Ramirez will be forced to make a move soon. With his assets frozen and your escape, he’s out of options. You might also want to put heavy security on the airport, borders and harbors for the time being.”

  The president nodded. “I will put the call in right away.”

  “I’d hesitate to include the local police force
in any final plans for his capture,” Reynolds put in bluntly. “I went to them when I was looking for Perez. Talked to some of the policemen involved in the interrogation of the airport dispatcher. I was approached by a uniform in town an hour later, saying they had information about Perez’s whereabouts.” He glanced at the silent operative. “Got blindsided. Knocked me over the head and threw me in the back of a truck. Drove me to the edge of the jungle and handed me over to the rebels.”

  “Carbon copy,” muttered Perez. “They grabbed me up about an hour after the interrogation ended. Claimed there was a break in the case and they were to take me back to the headquarters.”

  The look on de la Reyes’s face was thunderous. “You can identify these men?”

  The two nodded.

  “This, too, will be dealt with immediately. There is disloyalty all around us.” There was a flash across his expression, and Cael knew he was thinking of the woman who had betrayed them. “Each of these untrustworthy individuals put lives at risk. And they will be dealt with harshly.”

  Cael’s gaze went to the stranger sitting at the table who had been listening silently. It remained to be seen whether the man would end up in a San Baltes prison or be sent back to the States. “You’re up, Jonny. What’s your story?”

  The man had been sitting back, taking it all in. And Cael knew he’d been as distrustful of his “rescuers” as they had of him. “Jonny Streich, NSWU-Eight.”

  Cael straightened, narrowed his eyes at the man. “Son of a bitch,” he murmured. Without looking at him, he knew Reynolds was just as alert.

  Although American law prohibits the country’s military from active combat in allied countries, there were quiet deployments to support the antidrug efforts in South American countries. The Naval Special Warfare Unit Eight was one of those teams. Their task was to provide Mobile Training Teams to train the South American host personnel.

  Like most South American countries, San Baltes had an extensive river system. Ramirez, along with a lot of his drug dealer counterparts in neighboring countries, used the rivers as a highway for his drugs.