by Michael Todd
Sofia looked out the window of the jet as it rolled to a stop on the sandy runway. She had tried to sleep on the plane ride over, but couldn’t. No matter how tough Calvin was, she was still worried that she would never see him again.
She had only seen him in action once, and although he was a badass, she knew what the men he had gone to face were capable of. They were ruthless murderers with no regard for anything except sating their desire for power and wealth. She’d known them to kill regularly for business, and sometimes just for the hell of it. She still had nightmares about the bloodied and broken body she’d seen. Manuel had laughed her off and told her that was what happened to traitors. That one had gone to a watery grave, minus his limbs.
Sofia exited the plane and handed her ID to the soldier waiting at the bottom of the ramp. She hoped they were expecting her. He looked at the ID, then back at her to confirm her face matched. “Thank you, ma’am. If you could go to the Humvee, I’ll get your luggage.”
Sofia nodded and made her way across the hangar to the waiting vehicle. The soldier grabbed her bags and loaded them in the back of the Humvee, then swept his arm toward the rear passenger door. “Right this way, ma’am.”
Sofia held on to the door handle and stayed quiet as they drove out of the hangar. It wasn’t long until several buildings and platforms came into view. It wasn’t like any base she had seen before, and she wondered where they slept. They pulled up in front of a large warehouse, and the soldier unloaded her luggage. He got back into the Humvee, nodded at the door, and drove off.
Sofia approached and tapped apprehensively on the iron door. She stood there for a moment, shielding her eyes from the sand as she looked around for Timothy.
Timothy flung open the door and gave her a big smile. “You must be Sofia. I was expecting you. I’m Timothy, the most fabulous part of the team.”
Sofia chuckled and worked her bag strap in her hands. Timothy saw how nervous she was and stepped outside, closing the door behind him. It was obvious this woman needed to feel safe, and taking her into a busy armory really wasn’t the best choice. He leaned down and picked up her other bag. “Come on, let’s get you set up in Calvin’s room and then I’ll give you a tour. It’s not as scary as it looks, I promise.”
Sofia smiled uneasily and followed Timothy across the grounds to the small aboveground elevator. He pushed the button and stepped inside, looking back at Sofia. She looked at the elevator suspiciously, but shrugged her shoulders and stepped in. She knew Calvin wouldn’t send her anywhere dangerous, so she was happy to go along for the ride.
As the elevator went down, she looked Timothy over. He was slender and well-groomed, and his clothes were perfectly pressed and very stylish. His nails were painted dark green, and there was a hint of eyeliner under each eye. She smirked and looked back at the door as it slid open.
“Here we are…home sweet home.” Timothy guided her down the hall to the fourth door on the right. “This is Calvin’s room, where I was told to set you up, so let’s drop your bags off in there and then I’ll show you the rest of the place.”
Sofia nodded, and Timothy raised an eyebrow. “Girl, we are gonna have to loosen you up. There is no reason to be shy around me. I’m quite outspoken.”
Sofia giggled and dropped her bags on the ground, looking around at the room. It was homey and well-decorated, and it smelled like Calvin’s cologne. Between that and Timothy’s loud personality, she was already starting to feel more comfortable.
Timothy walked over and put his arm around her shoulders. “So, I hear you’ve been through the damn wringer.”
Sofia gave him a wry smile. “You could say that.”
“Well, one thing I learned here is that if I want to make it work and enjoy my life, I gotta do things that make me happy and get over all the bad stuff. Calvin will be back before you know it. Thinking along those lines, how would you like to try on all the clothes in my closet while we drink wine and gossip to pass the time? I mean, you’re dating Calvin, so I know there’s some seriously good gossip to be had. You know what the question on my mind is. Spill!”
She winked and held her hands out in front of her in an approximation that made Timothy swoon. He took a piece of paper off the dresser and fanned himself with it. “Girrrrlll, we are going to get along just perfectly. Anything that is mine is yours, and anything you need, you just let me know. I’ll get one of our sexy man-guards to fetch it.”
Sofia giggled. “I like the sound of that.”
“Mmmhmm, who wouldn’t? Come on, let me show you around the rest of the place.” They left Calvin’s room and Timothy led her on a tour of the underground base, from the living area to his IT room.
By the time they returned to the living room, Sofia felt at home.
Timothy looked around, taking a bottle of white wine out of the fridge and pulling a bottle of red off a rack. “Red or white, sweetie? I don’t suppose you know how to do a manicure and pedicure?”
Sofia smiled. “Hell, yes, I do.”
“Then it’s my lucky day.”
Katie got up from the dining room table where she was doing some research on her computer and opened the front door. Standing outside was Calvin, with an impressed look on his face and a duffel bag in each hand.
“You’re back!” Katie stepped aside to let him in.
Calvin set his bags down, then turned toward her and pulled her in for a big hug. “I’m glad to see you’re still in one piece.”
Katie gave him an extra squeeze and stepped back to look him over. “You too, fighting drug lords and shit.”
“Well, you know I couldn’t just go on vacation and relax. I had to get in some physical activity.”
Katie smirked. “I’m sure the damsel in distress had something to do with that.”
Calvin looked away. “Maybe just a little.”
Katie rolled her eyes and set off walking. “Come on, I’ll show you to the guest room, which happens to be the only room completely finished.”
After Katie showed Calvin down the hall to the guest room, he walked in and set his bags on the king-sized bed. She leaned in the doorway with her arms folded and watched him inspect the room.
Calvin sat on the bed. He ran his hand over the sumptuous counterpane and nodded in approval. “Nice. I go on vacation and find a girlfriend, you come to New York to work and buy a condo.”
Katie smiled. “I got an assistant, too.”
“Look at you, moving up in the world.”
Oh, joy. The black Rambo has arrived, and he smells like fucking…fucking! In fact, he completely reeks of it. I know he’s done that shit on purpose just to rub my nose in it.
I don’t smell anything. If I did, that would be gross.
Yeah, well, I was spawned with the nose of a hellhound. This man has been stuffin’ the muffin like it was the end of the fucking world. That’s fine. He wants to play games? I am the best at games. I will get back at him for every single bit of it.
Calm down. First we have a mission to take care of.
Pandora grumbled. She wasn’t getting any, so she didn’t want anyone else to get any either. Katie ignored it, finding her irritation funny. They headed back out into the living room, and Calvin relaxed on the couch.
Katie grabbed them a couple of beers and sat down in the adjacent chair. “So, Mexico, huh? And I bet I won’t get a moment of vacation out of it.”
He took the outstretched beer and opened it. “Most likely not, unless you consider gunfire and angry drug lords a vacation?”
She shrugged and sipped her beer. “It just might be, after the time I’ve had here lately. Might feel good to take out some normal bad guys for a change.”
“So, when do you think we can leave?”
“I know I can’t just leave.” She considered it for a moment. “I have to make sure I can get a couple of days free, which means making sure the local cops are prepared to handle anything that comes their way. They are pretty good on getting intel beforehand for bigger t
hreats, so I should be able to figure out when I can take those days without causing any drama. Also, we can use Timothy for information, and, if Sofia has anything she can tell us that might help, that would be great. They can work with my assistant, Angie.”
Calvin raised an eyebrow. “Is she Damned?”
“No.” Katie sighed. “I kind of just found myself drawn to her. I helped her out of a really bad situation. I needed support here and she needed a fresh start, so I figured we’d be the perfect match. I was nervous at first, but she has proven me right so far. She’ll be home later to get me set up to leave.”
Calvin raised his beer to her and took a sip. “Nice thing to have. Maybe you should check in with Timothy before then, get him started acquiring intel. I need to make sure Sofia got there safely anyway.”
“Right, I’ll do that now so we don’t waste any time.” Katie put down her beer and took her cell phone over to the large windows to enjoy the view while she spoke to Timothy.
Timothy answered the phone on the second ring. “Boss lady, what a nice surprise! What can I do for you this lovely afternoon?”
She smiled at his buoyant tone. “Hey, it’s good to hear a smile in your voice. I take it Sofia got there okay?”
“She did, and let me tell you, she is fabulous.” Timothy paused, and Katie heard a familiar voice in the background. “She’s asking if Calvin made it there okay?”
Katie chuckled and nodded at Calvin. “Calvin got here just a few minutes ago.”
“Perfect. The attack squad is rising from the ashes. What do you need me to do? Sofia brought me up to speed on the asshole situation. She also told me about Calvin living out his Rambo fantasy at the border, and that now the two of you are headed out to kick some cartel ass.”
Katie grinned. “Precisely.”
“What do you need me to do?”
“I need you to get with Sofia and start gathering intel. Use the satellites to get images of the property, find out how many guards are there at any given time, and anything else you think we might need to know before we storm the place. I don’t want to be caught in any traps, so I want to be prepared. I’m going to text you my assistant Angie’s number. I am going to be training her as an intelligence asset, but she’s already pretty capable once you explain what you need from her. You can work with her on gathering the information for me.”
Timothy grinned. “Oh, yay! A new teammate.”
Katie’s eyes crinkled with pleasure. “Kind of, but she isn’t infected. Just had some bad luck and needed some good in her life. She’s a godsend, and you’re going to love her.”
“That’s my Katie. Such a philanthropist.”
Katie scoffed. “Hardly! She does a great job. You should have seen my face when I got back from Vegas and saw everything she’d gotten done on the condo.”
“I can’t wait to see it. Oh…just so you know, I used a little bit of the company’s money to make some, ummm, necessary purchases for team spirit. I know you won’t mind.”
Katie frowned. “Okay? Sounds good. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Later, sweetie.” Timothy ended the call.
Katie hung up and looked at Calvin. He lifted an eyebrow and took a sip of his beer. He had heard part of the conversation, and was slightly concerned about what was going down at the base. “What exactly is ‘team spirit?’”
She shrugged. “To be honest, I was kind of afraid to ask. I’m sure whatever it is, they’re having a good time.”
By midmorning the next day Katie had finished blocking out a couple of days of free time, and she and Calvin were packing up and getting ready to leave for Mexico. Angie had gone out for a late breakfast and stayed to share the news.
She had received the intel email from Timothy and printed everything out for Katie to review. “These are hour-by-hour images from the compound.” She passed Katie the printouts one at a time as she explained. “There is also a list of all of the guard rotations, so you don’t have to go through and count it out yourself. The list also contains the names of the property’s residents. And… Oh, it was here a minute ago…” She flipped a couple of pages over and pulled out another piece of paper. “Ah, there we go. This is your target’s itinerary, and this is a floor plan based on Sofia’s description. She’s only been inside the compound once, but she described it to the best of her knowledge. There are new people there now that Manuel is dead, so things might have changed a little. Probably not too much, since this is a family-owned home passed down to each generation.”
“Good, thank you.” Katie smiled. “And thanks for working with Timothy. I’m going to keep you on speed dial, so be prepared to answer at a moment’s notice. Your duties for the next couple of days are pretty much to be here waiting for my call, and to answer my questions.”
“I can handle that,” Angie told her. “What should I do if anyone comes looking for you from the precinct?”
“Have them get in touch with Detective Schultz; his card is in the key bowl by the door. He knows I will be out of touch for a couple of days, but I don’t want anyone else knowing that.”
Angie nodded. “Got it.”
Katie nodded. “Great. I know you’ve got this. I’ll see you when we’re done cleaning house.”
Katie and Calvin picked up their bags and headed for the front door, nodding one last time to Angie before they left. They jumped in the car the front desk had arranged for and headed to the airport.
Calvin leaned back and stared out the window, thinking about Sofia. “Oh, did you get the plane tickets?”
Katie shook her head. “We’re taking the jet since we are on possible demon business. It turns out I’m not welcome on commercial airlines——something like I scare the hell out of them. I need a reason to use this plane anyway. It can’t just sit there.”
Calvin grinned. “I’m not complaining. I’m a big guy, and I get squished on those commercial flights.”
He’s just happy he won’t be tempted to re-join the mile-high club. Apparently, he is all about this Sofia broad.
Pandora, don’t be a bitch. Calvin obviously thinks a lot of her, so I’m sure she’s nice.
Whatever. She is going to be upset when the supposed twelve inches doesn’t work anymore.
You leave him alone.
For now, but only because he needs to have our back. Once we have returned safe and sound, all bets are off.
Calvin smirked at Katie. “I take it Pandora’s planning my demise?”
She snickered. “Like you killed her puppy and spit on its grave.”
Calvin laughed. “Aw, Pandora, I’ve really missed you.”
Pandora snorted. Nice try, big guy, but it won’t save you.
“She doesn’t share your sentiment.” Katie frowned. “You two need to learn to get along. We are destined for a very long friendship.”
Calvin held his hands up. “Hey, I don’t have a problem with Pandora. It’s just fun and games for me.”
Katie laughed. “I don’t know if Pandora knows what fun and games are.”
Sure I do, and I will find fun in the games I will be playing with Calvin.
Oh, come off it. You like him, too. You’re just bitter that he is getting to play and you aren’t.
Exactly.
Shouldn’t you be blaming me for that?
Oh, I do! But what am I going to do, play tricks on myself? That wouldn’t be any fun at all. He is the next best thing.
I don’t know if he feels the same way about that.
Well, I’ll make the payback short and sweet. I won’t drag it out. Much.
Oh, joy. How magnanimous of you.
I am an absolute fucking delight, and don’t you forget it.
The car pulled up in front of the hangar and left as soon as Katie and Calvin had finished unloading gear from the back. They put it on the plane and climbed aboard. Calvin sat down beside the window and buckled in while Katie mixed them a couple of drinks.
She’d stopped staffing the plane since she n
o longer knew who she could trust, but she was fine with that. It still felt weird for her to be waited on hand and foot. Besides, the last thing she needed was some demon hiding out on the plane and springing a surprise battle at ten thousand feet.
She wasn’t the biggest fan of skydiving.
She smiled to herself, thinking about her wings and wondering if they would save her if she were to jump from the plane.
Can we please not ever test that theory?
Why, Pandora? You scared of heights?
No. Pandora scoffed. But it’s still not my idea of a smart thing to do. What if one of those weird-ass feather sacks malfunctions and we plummet to the ground?
Katie rolled her eyes. They’re not robotic. I don’t think you have to worry about them malfunctioning.
Hey, I don’t put anything past that freak, Gabriel.
Hmmm. Well, we haven’t seen him lurking in the shadows recently. Maybe he’s chilled out on the stalker tendencies?
Not likely. I know how those angels roll. They act all sweet and innocent, but they are more conniving than demons. You’ll figure out eventually that the only difference between us is that they have prettier hair and eyes.
Katie put a whiskey and coke down in front of Calvin and sank into the chair next to him. She buckled her seatbelt as the plane prepared for takeoff and leaned her head back, enjoying the quiet for a moment. Calvin looked nervous or anxious, she couldn’t tell which one.
“You okay?”
“Just ready to be done with this and give myself and Sofia some peace of mind.”
Katie sighed. “That’s something I haven’t heard of or seen in a very long time.”
Chapter Thirteen
The plane sliced through the air, the ride smooth and free from turbulence. Soothing classical music played quietly over the speakers. Katie and Calvin had spread out to rest their feet on the other seats.
Katie glanced at Calvin. She’d been a little jealous when he went on vacation, but now that she knew what kind of trouble he’d gotten into she was starting to realize vacation time was not something that would ever come easily to either of them. She wanted to talk about the plan; to talk about New York, and everything going on.
