Ben snorted. “The last time I shopped it was at a thrift shop. We could check it out but the selection’s not that great.”
“I’d say not. Looks more like you went dumpster-diving for what you’re wearing,” Zach replied snidely.
Ben took a deep breath before asking, “What’s your problem with me?”
“It’s not you, it’s the situation. I know Durand thinks you’re good. I want to find out if he’s right and if you are, can you physically handle what it will involve, given your bad knee.”
“I’d like to find out, too, so let’s go straight to the range. Like I told him, so far I’ve dealt with it. I have been for, hell, over a year.”
Zach’s expression softened. “From what he said, you got a bum deal all around.”
“Yeah, I did, but there wasn’t anything I could do about it. My word against my partner’s, and he was a great conman with all the answers.”
Glancing at him, Zach asked, “Have you ever considered retaliating?”
“I’ve dreamed about it, yes, but I’m not about to actually do it. If anything happened to him I’d be the first person they came looking for.”
“Probably true, although if he is mixed up with drug dealers they’d also be obvious suspects.”
Ben shrugged. “Possibly, but not a chance I’d be willing to take.”
By then, Zach was driving into a lot for a large mall. He parked and they got out, crossing to the entrance of a national department store.
* * * *
Zach wasn’t certain how he felt about Ben. According to Durand, the man would be an asset to the tactical team. Looking at him, however, as he limped through the men’s section of the store, had Zach wondering if that was going to happen.
Even if he still has the skills we need, he’s not mobile enough. You don’t stand stiff-legged while taking a bead on someone you’re supposed to eliminate with prejudice. More often than not you have to kneel or lie flat while aiming at your target. Will he be able to do that, and then disappear before someone spots where the shots came from?
That was something he intended to find out when they got to the shooting range.
“Think I can get away with buying three pair of jeans and a few shirts, or should I restrain my urge for a whole new wardrobe,” Ben asked with a wry smile when Zach came over to where he was standing, sorting through work shirts.
“Since it’ll come out of your first paycheck, it’s really your decision.”
“Yeah, good point.” He picked two of the shirts, adding them to the pairs of jeans and some T-shirts he’d set on the corner of a counter. “Underwear,” he muttered, crossing the aisle to take a package of briefs and another of socks from the display racks. The last thing he chose was a light-weight black jacket. “That should just about eat up whatever I get paid.”
Zach shook his head. “Not even close, but you’ll need the rest for food.”
“Damn, yeah, you’re right.” Picking up the pile, he went over to the clerk standing at a cash register. “He’s paying,” he told the man, nodding toward Zach.
The man lifted an eyebrow, which Zach had the feeling meant the guy thought that he and Ben were more than friends—and didn’t approve. It pissed him off, so he decided to yank the man’s chain. Turning to Ben, he said, “Are you sure you don’t need anything more for our trip, lover.”
Much to Zach’s surprise, Ben played along. Without batting an eye he replied, “I was thinking about a bathing suit, but I guess the one I’ve got will do fine. It’s not that old. You, on the other hand should retire yours, like last week.”
“Maybe so, but I’m not going to look for one now. We have to get moving.” Zach took out his Vanguard credit card, handing it to the clerk. Once the purchases were rung up and bagged, they returned to the jeep.
“I’ll admit,” Zach said as they got in, “I didn’t expect you to go along with that.”
Ben shrugged. “I saw the look he gave us. I’ve also done some undercover work, so I know how to fake it when necessary.”
“That’s good to know,” Zach replied. “It’s sometimes necessary when we’re going after someone.”
“I sort of figured.” Ben went silent at that point, staring bleakly out the window as they drove toward the range.
After a few minutes, Zach asked, “Did it bring back bad memories?”
“Not really. More like I miss that life. Not only the undercover work, but the whole thing. Taking down the bastards who needed it.”
“Now you’ll have the chance to do it again,” Zach pointed out.
“We’ll see. It’s been a while. I can tell myself I haven’t lost my edge, but my knee says differently.”
“How much does it affect your movements?”
“Like I told Ray,” Ben replied, “I can run when necessary. It’s painful, but I can. Climbing…” He waggled his hand.
Zach chuckled. “We won’t be scaling trees. Well, not normally.”
“I was thinking more like fire escapes, or flights of stairs. You can’t always get up where you need to be by taking the elevator. Not if you don’t want people remembering you after the fact.”
“True.” Zach pulled off the highway onto a side road before saying, “What about kneeling?”
“Fucking hurts like hell sometimes, if I don’t ease into it and I can’t kneel on my bad knee. It’s more go down on my good knee with my other foot flat on the ground. Before you ask, getting down into a prone position is okay, if I’m careful. If it wasn’t I’d have to sleep sitting up, which I’ve done more than a few times in the last year, in doorways. Not exactly restful.”
“I’m sure. Do you wear a brace to stabilize your knee?”
“I had one, after they removed the cast. I seem to have misplaced it, soon after I became homeless.”
“Misplaced?” Zach asked, giving Ben a disbelieving look.
“Okay, I sold it. Not that I got much but it did pay for a few halfway decent meals. I figured eating was more important to my general welfare than the brace. From what the doc said when I got it, I’d have been out of it anyway in a couple of months.”
“Quite understandable, under the circumstances.” Zach turned off the side road onto a narrow paved one that headed into the trees. A few minutes later he brought the jeep to a stop in small parking area next to a long, low, windowless concrete building. “Now the fun begins,” he said as they got out.
The only entrance was a steel door with a security box next to it. Zach punched in the code, which allowed him to open the box, and then pressed his thumb to the pad inside. Only then could the door be opened, which he did.
“No one’s breaking in here,” Ben commented as they stepped inside.
“That is the idea, although we’ve had the occasional idiot who tried, which is to be expected. The building has two main parts, the firing range and one for active scenario practice.”
“Been there, done that, when I was first recruited for the SWAT team,” Ben replied.
“Good. Then you know what’s involved.” Zach took him into the firing range where he unlocked an arms cabinet along the side wall. “Pick you weapon, or weapons.”
Ben did, choosing a carbine, a sniper rifle, and a semi-automatic pistol. For the next hour, he practiced on the range. At the start it was obvious to Zach that he was rusty, but by the end he was hitting the targets with remarkable precision.
“Clean the guns, then let’s take a break,” Zach said. He had to make certain Ben remembered what was involved in doing that—which he did.
There was a small room at the side of the range, with a door at the far end which opened, Zach told Ben, onto the hallway leading to the second range.
“We have drinks and packaged sandwiches, take what you want,” he said as he took a bottle of water from the fridge. Ben did, choosing a ham sandwich and fruit juice. They sat at the lone table while he ate.
“You’re damned good,” Zach told him.
“So far,” Ben countered.
“How I do when it comes to the simulations could make or break me.”
Zach nodded. “I suspect you can handle it, until the pain gets to be too much, which hopefully won’t be immediately.”
“Not if I’ve got anything to say about it,” Ben said under his breath.
“Do not push yourself beyond your limits, Ben,” Zach replied adamantly. “You don’t have to be perfect the first time around. This will be more of a test of what you can deal with, physically. I’m fairly certain you have the actual ‘innocent versus criminal’ target down pat, even after a year’s break.”
“I’d better or I’ll be useless.”
“Exactly.”
When Ben finished his sandwich, they went down to the second room. Ben chose two weapons to practice with and Zach set things in motion. He was impressed by Ben’s ability to avoid shooting a ‘bystander’ while taking out the ‘criminal’ without hesitation, even when said criminal was using the bystander as a shield.
“Time to quit,” he called out when he saw pain etched on Ben’s face, and in the way he moved, favoring his bad leg more and more.
“I’m fine,” Ben protested.
“No, you’re not. It’s not going to do you any good if your leg collapses and you end up back in the hospital or in our clinic.”
“Vanguard has its own clinic?”
“We do. The last thing we want is one of our people having to explain to the cops how he got shot. The police tend to frown on private citizens taking things into their own hands.”
“No shit.” Ben limped behind the counter where Zach had stood to watch him, cleaned his weapons, and put them back in the gun cabinet. “Did I pass?” he asked with a half grin.
“You did. Welcome to the team.” Zach had the feeling Ben would have pumped a fist if he was a younger man. As it was, he smiled with relief. “Tomorrow morning I’ll introduce you to the other members,” Zach told him.
“How many are there?”
“Two. Ezra, Ez for short, and Hayley. Ez looks like a movie depiction of a sniper, all muscle with a buzz cut, and tanned within an inch of his life. Hayley’s all of five-three, blonde, with attitude and smart as a whip when it comes to what we do. You’ll like her.” Zach cast a knowing glance at Ben, wondering how he’d react. He knew, from the information Durand had given him about the man, that he was gay but had spent his entire life either denying it or deep in the closet.
Ben chuckled. “I’m not stupid. I know Durand told you everything about me. So, no, I won’t like her, not in the way you’re implying, although I’m sure I will otherwise.”
Zach nodded. “Had to know which way the wind blew with you, now. Okay, let’s get out of here. I have other things to do so I’ll drop you off at home.”
“Not sure it’s home, per se, but thanks.”
Chapter 3
Ben woke to the sound of the cell phone, unsure for a moment where he was even though it was his second day at the safe house. Once he got oriented, he answered the call. It was Zach, telling him in no uncertain terms to meet him in his office on the third floor of the Vanguard building at nine sharp.
“Back to being bossy, again,” Ben muttered after Zach ended the call. He had hung up his new shirts and jeans the previous afternoon, and put the T-shirts and underwear in the dresser drawer. After using the bathroom, he got dressed.
“I’m a whole new man,” he said when he looked in the mirror. “Relatively speaking anyway.”
He ate breakfast and then used his phone to find out which bus would take him to his destination. He was about to leave when his phone rang. “I’m downstairs,” Zach said when Ben answered. “Pack a bag and get down here.”
“Backpack,” Ben replied to a dead phone. He quickly stuffed his new clothes into the pack, as well his comb, toothbrush and paste, and then slung it over his shoulder and left the apartment, remembering at the last second to set the alarm.
“You move fast,” Zach said with a brief smile when Ben got into the jeep.
“Where are we going?”
“To the airport. Sorry to jump you right into this without any warning,” Zach replied. “We’ve been looking for a kidnap victim and twenty minutes ago our people finally located where he’s being held.”
“Obviously not here.”
“Nope. It happened out east. I’ll fill you and the others in when we’re on the plane.”
As they drove, Ben realized they weren’t heading to the main airport. “We’re taking a private jet?” he asked.
“Yep. We keep them at an airport that caters to corporate jets.”
“Why aren’t I surprised that Vanguard has more than one?”
Zach tossed him a quick smile. “Because you’re beginning to get that it’s a large organization, even though there aren’t that many people working for our particular part of it?”
“I am now.”
When they arrived at the airport, Zach drove directly to a small lot beside a row of hangers. A jet with the Vanguard logo sat in front of one of them. Ben hefted his backpack over his shoulder, waited for Zach to get his bag from the back of the jeep, and then followed him into the jet. Two people were already settled in facing seats in the cabin, a drop-down table between them. One was a swarthy-looking man who he knew had to be Ez, the other a petite blonde woman—obviously Hayley. Zach gestured for Ben to take a seat across the aisle, after they’d stored their bags in the overhead bin, and then introduced him to the others before walking forward to the cockpit.
“Tell us a bit about yourself,” Hayley said to Ben.
“Not much to tell. I’m an ex-cop who, for reasons I’d rather not go into at the moment ended up living on the streets.”
“We don’t keep secrets,” Ez said sternly.
“Good, then tell me about you,” Ben retorted, stretching out his bad leg, glad there was room enough that he could.
“Ex-bodyguard with a national security firm until Durand recruited me.”
“Stole you away is more like it,” Hayley said, grinning. “My father was furious. Then Durand asked me if I wanted to join Vanguard, too. It really frosted Dad’s ass when I accepted.”
“Don’t let her size and cuteness fool you,” Ez said. “She’s damned good at what she does or she wouldn’t have been working for her father to begin with.”
Hayley nodded. “Dad wanted a son to follow in his footsteps, but it didn’t work out that way, so he resigned himself to me and trained me well.”
“Very well,” Zach said as he dropped down into the seat across from Ben.
At that point, the pilot announced that they should fasten their seatbelts and soon the plane was taxing down the runway.
“Okay,” Zach said once they were in the air. “Here’s what we know so far. The kidnappers have made their demands, our people have located where they’re holding their victim.”
“Building, house?” Ez asked succinctly.
“In a well-secured four-story, self-storage facility in the industrial area of the city,” Zach replied. He stood to get a folder from his bag, sat again, and opened it. “This is a satellite-view of the area,” he said, handing a copy to each of them.
“No fucking windows,” Ez muttered. “Not good.”
Studying the picture, Ben agreed with Ez’s assessment. “We can get on the roof from parking garage next door, but then what?”
“I’m presuming they’ve got him in one of the storage units,” Hayley said. “Do you know which one, Zach?”
“We know which floor and the general location, that’s it,” Zach replied.
“What’s the possibility we can rent a unit close to it?” Ben asked.
“We’ll find out when we get there. If nothing else, we can get a tour of the building if we pose as potential renters who want to take a look at the various types of units available.”
“That’s a start. What’s our timeframe?” Ez wanted to know.
“The guy’s parents were given twenty-four hours to come up with the money. T
hey may be able to stall the kidnappers since it’s a sizable amount.” Zach checked the time. “It’s eleven-fifteen their time, so we’re in hour four. By the time we land and get into the city we’ll have nineteen hours and counting.”
“Not great but doable,” Hayley said. “When does the storage place close?”
“It’s open twenty-four-seven, although the front office is only manned from nine to six, which is good for us,” Zach replied. “We can scout the place out then Hayley and I will go in to see about renting a unit while Ez and Ben go…” He paused to check the map. “All right, according to this there’s a hotel about five blocks from there. You two rent us rooms, let us know which ones, and we’ll meet up as soon as Hayley and I are finished.”
“Under what name?” Ez asked.
“What ID do you have with you?”
Ez got his bag and took out what appeared to be a can of shaving cream. He unscrewed the bottom and several credit cards and IDs fell into his hand—which he showed Zach.
“Use the National Appliances one,” Zach told him.
Ez nodded. “So I’ll be James Elliot, salesman, this time around. Good. I haven’t used it in well over a year.” He put all but those two back into the can, which went back into his bag.
“If we’d had time I’d have had them make up new ones for all of us,” Zach replied. “As it is, Ez will be the front man when it comes to paying for everything except the rental on a unit at the storage place. I’ll have to do that.”
“I’m impressed,” Ben said.
“With what?” Hayley asked.
“How quickly you all have pulled this together.”
She smiled, replying, “It’s what we do, although usually we have more time to plan everything down to the smallest detail.”
“Durand’s arranged for a car for us which will speed things up,” Zach said.
“A stretch limo?” Hayley grinned.
“Get real,” he replied.
“A girl can dream.”
“What about weapons?” Ben asked.
“They’re in the cargo hold,” Ez told him. “I’ll show you what we’ve got when we get to the hotel.”
A Second Chance Page 3
