Coyote's Revenge

by Vannetta Chapman

  Aiden realized he should be sleeping. He would have to pack the minute he arrived home if he hoped to leave for Banff by noon. He should catch some rest while they were in flight.

  Instead he spent the next thirty minutes telling Madison about the Great Salt Lake, the largest body of water between the Great Lakes and the Pacific Ocean. As he spoke of Anasazi Indians and the Donner-Reed party, she curled into her seat, feet pulled up, hand tucked under her pillow, blanket across her lap.

  “Have you ever crossed it by car?” she asked.

  “Once, in the fall of 1990. I was fifteen years old. It was the year I had become cocky and somewhat careless. My father was determined to teach me the power of nature. So instead of flying from Salt Lake City to Kalispell like we normally did, he rented a car and we drove across the salt flats.”

  Madison reached a hand out from under her blanket and lightly ran her fingers across the back of his hand. Every nerve in his body jumped to attention.

  “Did it work?” she asked.

  “Did what work?”

  “Did you learn to respect nature?”

  “It was certainly a humbling experience. Combined with the bear we crossed while hunting that winter.” Aiden fought the old ache, tried to bury it as he always had. “Those two events changed my life.”

  “You crossed a bear?”

  “He attacked my father.” Aiden drew a deep breath and pulled his hand away.

  “What happened?”

  “He died.” Aiden counted to ten, then pushed the memory back into the place he kept it.

  “The bear?”

  “No. My father.”

  “Aiden, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”

  “It’s not your fault. It’s not something I talk about.”

  Madison continued tracing some invisible pattern on his hand. They had dropped their voices to a whisper, trying not to bother the other two first-class passengers. Aiden had to lean closer to hear what she said next.

  “Your childhood must have been very different from what most teenagers experience.”

  “Not so much. Other than occasional trips, it was pretty normal. My parents wanted my brother and me to grow up independent, able to make it without their money.”

  “Could you?”

  “Make it without their money?”

  Madison nodded as she snuggled into the leather seat, trying to get comfortable after a long day of airports and airplanes. Aiden raised the armrest between their seats, and pulled her toward him, placed his arm around her. She hesitated for a moment, but her tiredness won over the resistance that played across her face.

  Curling up beside him, she repeated her question. “Could you?”

  “Yeah, I could. I’ve lived both ways though, and believe me, this way is better.”

  As Madison snuggled into his arms, Aiden lost the last of his reserve. Burying his face into her hair, he took a long deep breath. In that moment he breathed in more than the clean fragrance of her shampoo or the softly sweet scent of her perfume. It was as if he breathed in the essence of who she was.

  He wondered if he should slow down, but before the thought was fully formed he kissed her hair, ran his hand again down her arm, lost another piece of his heart.

  By tonight he would be in Banff. He’d follow Martin’s orders, somehow resist killing Coyote if he did happen to see him. He’d fulfill his duties, the way his father had taught him to, regardless of his opinion of those orders. But for the rest of the flight, he would enjoy the smell and feel of her. For a few moments, he would stop being Aiden Lewis, millionaire agent, and enjoy being a man standing on the edge of a turn-your-gut-inside-out love.

  If things were different, he would pursue her. He would pursue her and win her over. For the rest of their short flight, Aiden allowed himself to enjoy the thought. If only things were different.

  THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT’S hand on his shoulder jerked Aiden from his sleep. She leaned down to whisper, “There’s a call for you up front.”

  Aiden nodded and tried to remove his arm from Madison without waking her.

  “What’s wrong?” She sat up with a start, rubbing at her eyes, trying to get her bearings.

  “Nothing. I need to go up front for a minute. Go back to sleep.”

  She leaned her head back against the wall of the plane, set her feet in Aiden’s seat, and gave him a sleepy smile. “I’ll save your place for you.”

  “Absolutely. Don’t let anyone else sit here.”

  Following the flight attendant to the front of the plane, he wondered what Martin was up to. No one else could have gotten a call through a private carrier. All calls would have to be patched through the airline and approved by the captain flying the plane. Not a routine thing to do, but then Aiden had learned Martin had friends everywhere.

  “The Captain has routed your call to this phone.” The flight attendant pointed to a handset near the sink in the fore cabin. She quietly pulled the curtain to give him privacy as she returned to check on the passengers in the first-class cabin.

  “Lewis.” It came out a little rougher than he intended. As expected, Martin’s voice came back across the line.

  “Jacob will pick you up at the airport.”

  “Of course he will.” Aiden tried to sound bored, the way he’d been taught. Should anyone be listening, hopefully they would think the airlines were simply bending the rules for another rich playboy.

  Replacing the handset, he opened the curtain, smiled his thanks to the flight attendant and made his way to the closet restroom.

  Turning the water on, he splashed some on his face, studied himself in the mirror, and wondered what was going on.

  “Jacob will pick you up at the airport.” That was the extent of Martin’s message. Jacob wasn’t supposed to pick him up though. He had left his Chevy Avalanche at the airport so he could drive himself. He was supposed to go home, pack, and leave that afternoon. Something had changed. As with everything else on this mission, things were not going according to plan.

  Sighing heavily, Aiden reached for a paper towel, dried his face, and made his way back to his seat.

  Madison was fully awake and looking worried. “Something’s wrong. What is it?”

  She moved to make room for him, but Aiden simply picked up her feet, sat down and placed them in his lap. As he tucked the blanket around her toes, he noticed the Snoopy socks.

  “Nothing’s wrong. I’ve had a change in transportation plans. My chauffeur is going to pick me up at the airport.”

  Madison stared at him in disbelief. “That’s it?”

  Aiden shrugged.

  “They called you on a plane to say your chauffeur would pick you up?”

  Aiden ran a finger down the bottom of her foot. She tried to pull away, but he was enjoying himself too much to let go. “Do you have a problem with that Ms. Hart?”

  “No. I hope they don’t have to divert the plane to meet your granny. Or add a stopover for your dry cleaning.”

  “Now you’re mocking me.”

  “Would I mock you?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Ok, I’m mocking you.”

  “By the way, my chauffeur picks up my dry cleaning.”

  When Madison slapped him on the arm, he grabbed her hand, held it tightly in his and entwined his fingers with hers.

  The captain’s voice interrupted them, advising all passengers they would be landing within fifteen minutes.

  Madison pulled her hand away, refusing to look him in the eye. Aiden watched her as she folded the blanket, smoothed her hair, and retied her running shoes.

  Then they were landing. Aiden realized he was going to have to leave her. He’d hoped to drive her to Edgewood himself. Looking out the window, he saw Jacob waiting as promised.

  “Madison, I didn’t expect to have to leave so suddenly.”

  “It’s not a problem.”

  She was making a valiant attempt to look like the calm, cosmopolitan traveler she was not. The plane ha
d stopped and the steps were being wheeled up to the door. Aiden grabbed his Stetson and his overnight bag. He paused long enough to reach out and touch her cheek, long enough to promise with a look what he didn’t have time to promise with words.

  “Edgewood is a small school district. I’ll call you as soon as I can.”

  She nodded, looked down, then glanced back up. For a moment he thought she would lean forward, kiss him softly, touch his face. Then the moment passed, and she began gathering her things together.

  The flight attendant confirmed with a look that he was cleared to leave before the other passengers. As Aiden descended the steps he was amused to see Jacob decked out in his chauffer outfit. Aiden nodded to him, careful not to shake hands, then followed him into the airport.

  He stopped once, despite the impatient glare Jacob sent his way. Speaking to the airline rep waiting inside the door, he handed her a hundred-dollar bill, then turned and sprinted through the near empty airport.

  He stepped into the Yukon SLT, noting the words Wild Horse Limo printed boldly on the side. He barely managed to buckle his seatbelt before Jacob pulled away from the curb.

  Aiden was so distracted thinking of how he would find Madison and cursing himself for not asking for her cell number, that it took a few seconds before he noticed he wasn’t alone in the backseat of the limo.

  MADISON STEPPED INTO the terminal, once again loaded down with baggage. Between her exhaustion, the backpack, and the carry-on, she was lucky to stumble across the tarmac without falling.

  Aiden had left so abruptly Madison hadn’t been able to process what she was feeling. Abandoned? That was ridiculous. It wasn’t like he owed her anything. What had she expected anyway? A ride in his limo? Did she think Aiden would stay around to help her home with her luggage? She didn’t even have a home.

  In fact, where were her reservation papers? She needed to call the hotel and see if she could receive a refund on the room and then find her rental car. Dumping her bags into the nearest chair, Madison was searching for the reservation information in her backpack when a porter walked up and cleared his throat.

  “Ms. Hart?”

  Madison looked up, surprised to hear her name in a place where she knew no one.

  “I’m Madison Hart.” She pulled the reservation sheet from her pack and zipped it back up.

  “I’ll help you with those, ma’am. If you’ll follow me, there’s a taxi waiting for you outside.”

  The boy looked barely old enough to shave. In fact, he probably didn’t shave. He also didn’t have any trouble picking up both of her bags.

  “But I haven’t called a taxi yet.”

  “Mr. Lewis took care of it for you. He also said you’d need help with these.” The boy shuffled from foot to foot, apparently uncertain how to convince her to go with him. He was tall and gangly and young.

  Madison looked around the empty terminal. All the other passengers had managed to leave while she was looking for her reservation form.

  Suddenly the exhaustion won. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been to bed. She considered going to the hotel, checking into her room, pulling the drapes, and sleeping twenty-four hours. Truth was she felt ridiculous going to bed at eight in the morning though. What she needed most was to leave the airport.

  “All right. Show me the way.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  It was a small airport. They were outside within five minutes. She tried to tip the boy, but Aiden had taken care of that as well.

  “I need to go to Avis Rental.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  The drive to the rental agency revealed little of Kalispell. Madison called the hotel while they traveled past empty parking lots and sleepy neighborhoods. She was upset to learn she would be charged for the room since she never showed up or cancelled it. After talking to a manager, he agreed to comp her account. Wonderful. She had an all-expense paid night in a Holiday Inn Express of her choice.

  But Madison didn’t want to stay in a Holiday Inn. She wanted to be home, in her little rental house in Dallas, which she couldn’t even afford on her teacher’s salary. No doubt someone else lived there now. She looked out the window and saw flat land and in the distance the promise of mountains. It was hard to realize this was home now. At least for the next year it was.

  She’d rent her car and be in Edgewood within the hour. Madison’s exhaustion was wiped away by a small, sudden thrill of anticipation. She was headed toward her new life, her new apartment, her new job.

  The driver insisted on transferring her bags from the taxi to the lobby of the rental car agency. When she tried to pay him for the fare she again heard, “Mr. Lewis already took care of it, ma’am.”

  She waited in line behind a short, chubby older man who continuously ran his hand over the top of his balding head. When he finished with his reservation, he turned, smiled once, and then exited through the sliding doors to where the rental cars were parked.

  In twenty minutes she was on the road to Edgewood. Despite the unbelievably odd beginning to her trip, things were turning out well. The weariness was there, beneath the surface, but she could ignore it for now.

  As she drove through the Flathead Valley, the river snaking along one side of the road, the mountains towering around her, Madison felt as though she were driving into a postcard. She had seen the pictures on the Internet, but they did nothing to prepare her for the majesty of the scene before her. The Rocky Mountains literally took her breath away. Was that snow on top of the peaks? In August? The town of Edgewood was nestled at the base of the Big Mountain, and Madison was grateful she didn’t have to drive any of the steep roads she saw snaking up its side. In truth, she was terrified of steep roads. She had figured she would overcome that fear when she had to, which was not this morning.

  Today she needed to focus on her new apartment, finding furniture with her meager funds, and purchasing supplies. Instead her mind kept going back to a teasing smile, a black Stetson hat, and the feel of Aiden’s hand over hers.

  AIDEN STARED AT MARTIN. “I hope you’re here to explain to me what happened.”

  “Coyote insisted he not be followed or Claudia would be killed. We had electronic surveillance on him and still managed to lose him. He’s a master of disguise, Aiden. You know that. We also managed to lose Maira. We think there was at least one more operative in coach class, which is how he managed to drug Hart without Slater seeing.”

  “How is that possible?”

  “There’s more.”

  Aiden didn’t trust himself to answer. He waited, sure he did not want to hear what Martin was about to say.

  “Coyote and ten of Yassin’s men have set into motion a plan to blow up ten of the largest dams in North America. We believe it will happen on September 28 when the G8 summit is scheduled to convene.” Martin handed his phone to Aiden. “Here are photos of five of the men.”

  Aiden took a few moments to memorize their facial features and study their dossiers. Returning the phone to Martin, he leaned back into the leather seat and studied the man he had learned to consider his friend as well as his boss.

  “Why didn’t I know about this earlier?”

  “You didn’t need to know until now.”

  ”Coyote could have killed her. I would never have allowed Madison to remain on that plane if I’d known Coyote was in the middle of an active operation, and I sure wouldn’t have used her for intel.”

  To his credit, Martin let him vent without reprimanding him.

  “You should have told me.”

  “Hart is fine. Take my advice and forget about her. We need you on this, and we need you at the top of your game. Dambusters has been given top priority from the President and is now an intercept mission. It’s critical we move on all ten operatives at the same time. Otherwise the remaining players will go underground until September 28.”

  “Dambusters? I assume you are not referring to the Call of Duty game.”

  Martin grunted and relaxed
a little. “Caught my grandson playing the game last week. Horrid entertainment. Dambusters refers to attacks made on German dams in 1943 by RAF squadrons known as the Dambusters. Barnes Wallis was the designer of a drum-shaped bomb that could spin backward at over 500 rpm. Dropped at a low altitude and at the right speed, it could bypass dam protection and detonate against the wall of the dam underwater.”

  “Was it successful?”

  “Minimally. Only two dams suffered a major breach, killing less than 1300 people and temporarily reducing water output and electricity production. Recent intel suggests Yassin has purchased smart bombs modified with Wallis’s design that can be delivered by much smaller planes.”

  “Commuter?”

  Martin nodded. “Our analysts predict a similar attack on U.S. dams would be cataclysmic. While less than 15 percent of our electricity comes from hydropower, the cities most affected are already experiencing rolling brownouts due to energy shortages.”

  “Los Angeles.”

  “Yes, but that is only the most obvious one. I’ve sent you an encrypted list of the most vulnerable cities which you can review on your way to Alberta.”

  “How much have we narrowed the field?”

  “There’s the rub. Of course we’re watching the largest dams—Oroville, Hoover, Dworshak. However, they could also create substantial havoc hitting the mid-tier.”

  “Projected loss of life?”

  “If all ten are hit, initial casualties could equal more than ten million. Subsequent deaths due to rolling power outages could double or triple that number.”

  Martin gave Aiden a minute to let the numbers sink in, then continued in a tired voice. “America and Canada are the largest users of hydropower. Not only would such an attack cripple us economically, but it would create the kind of chaos and fear Yassin has been striving for since the 9-11 attacks.”

  “What makes you think Yassin will move his men across the border early?”

  “Sources tell us a meeting is to take place in LA in three days. We think Coyote was here seeing to last-minute details. He may or may not proceed to Canada to help with the crossing of the other operatives.”