Dear Janey,
I’m writing this in a hurry because I suspect I might be in grave danger. I discovered some things about Senator Coleman and I don’t know what is going to happen. I need you to get the thumb drive to Sierra Newman. Below I’ve included the address to Silver Shield Security; they can find her. Please get the thumb drive to her any way you can. No one else must know that you have it. I love you, little sis, and I’m sorry I have not been there. Please give my love to everyone.
Your sister,
Diane X
Janey read and reread the note, but it still didn’t make much sense to her. What was Diane saying? Her life was in danger? As she read the note again for the fifth time, reaction set in and she began to tremble. A few strands of hair fell over her face and she impatiently brushed them away.
She reached for her phone and punched in Diane’s number by heart. She should have called all this while. Why had she not called? What if her sister was going through a rough time? And she’d just abandoned her like that. What did it matter who was doing the calling?
Janey’s thoughts were all over the place as she waited for Diane to pick up on the other side. The phone rang and went into voicemail. Janey disconnected and tried again. She thought of leaving a message, but remembered Diane had said no one must know that she had the thumb drive. If anyone was searching for clues, they would probably check her voicemail. So she didn’t leave a message.
She sat in her office for thirty minutes, frantically trying to get hold of her sister. She did not know who to ask as she didn’t know who her sister’s friends were or if she even had any. She thought of calling Diane’s office, but who could she trust?
Her heartbeat racing wildly, Janey picked up the note and read it again. She lifted the thumb drive and stared at it. What could be in it that would put her sister in such grave danger?
“I’m not sure I want to find out,” she murmured, putting it down again.
Pensively, she slipped the ring unto her finger, feeling close to Diane as she did so. That was when she discovered what looked like a newspaper clipping just beneath the envelope that had contained the ring and thumb drive. She reached for it and noticed that it was folded in half. Janey slowly opened the newspaper. It was an article about Senator Coleman and an arms scandal. As she read it, she began to tremble.
Diane was in trouble. She’d suspected as much when she read the note, but the newspaper clipping confirmed it. She scanned the note for the number for Silver Shield Security. She took a deep breath and placed the call.
“Silver Shield Security, how may I help you?”
“Ah, hi. My name is Janey Moore and I have something for Sierra Newman from my sister, Diane Moore.”
There was a brief pause then, “Alright honey, hold for Emily.”
“Okay, thanks.”
“Hi, Janey, this is Emily.”
“Ah, hi. I have a thumb drive for Sierra Newman.”
“Okay, where are you calling from?”
“Oklahoma.”
“May I ask what this is about?”
Janey sighed deeply, “I’m not exactly sure, but my sister works with Senator Coleman and she sent this over. I need to make sure that it gets to Sierra Newman.”
There was a brief pause, then “Fine, we’ll send someone to you.”
She was brisk and to the point.
“No. If it’s okay by you, I’d rather come there.” She needed to pay a visit to Diane anyway.
There was another pause then the other woman continued in a softer tone, “Is it okay if I send the airplane to you?”
“That would be fine,” Janey said.
She had several things to arrange and she needed the extra time to plan for her absence. She had no idea how long she would be away for or what she would tell her parents. She could not tell them that she was afraid Diane was in trouble, they would worry and her dad had a bad heart.
She thought about calling her brothers, but she had no idea how they would react. They might discourage her from going to look for Diane and she did not need any negativity. No, she was alone in this.
After she ended the call, Janey leaned back against her chair and shut her eyes. She did not know what to do. Well, she knew what she had to do, she had to go find her sister, but Lord, she was scared. She had never been so terrified in her life.
She stood up slowly and took out a bottle of water from the small fridge in her office.
Chapter Thirty-One
35 hours and 18 minutes after Sierra’s disappearance
Silver Shield’s office had a nice terrace, which was good for hanging out after work hours. It had a barbecue pit and a fireplace for winter. It also had steps that led down to the swimming pool.
Ace stood out on the terrace, staring off to space. He had a lit cigarette between his fingers. Although he’d quit more than a year ago, he needed a way to contain the rage that was building inside. He wanted to punch something real hard, but he didn’t think that would make him feel better. He could feel himself slowly losing it.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Drew walking towards him. He stood beside him, not saying anything for several minutes.
“It’s killing you, huh?” Drew asked lazily, squinting against the glare of the sun.
Ace remained silent. He just puffed some more. It was his second stick and he was aiming to go through a pack before he was done.
“We were right to wait, you know that.”
Ace clenched his jaw. It was true that they were going in prepared, not only had Rusty figured out exactly where they were holding Sierra, but he also knew the position of the senator’s security at all times. He had watched them for almost twenty-four hours. They were not going in blind, and that was great. But he had seen the footage. He had seen how those animals had tied her up and beaten her.
His jaw clenched again when he thought of what he’d seen. The bastards had laid a hand on her! He was going to tear them apart limb by limb.
“I should have gone in yesterday,” he said, even though he knew he would have made things worse.
Tamika joined them then. She placed a hand on Ace’s arm. “Don’t worry, Ace, we’ll get your sweetheart back.”
Ace looked at the earnest expression in her eyes and smiled lightly. She did not like to show it, but Tamika was an empath. She felt other people’s pain almost as keenly as they did. He knew she hated that part of herself, but it was what made her such a superb operative and a wonderful person. She knew people.
“Thanks, Tamika.”
She nodded and dropped her hand to her side. “You’re in love with her,” she stated simply.
Ace began to deny it. He did not do love. He was not capable of falling in love with someone. But suddenly, the words sounded hollow to him. They no longer had that ring of truth. He shook his head baffled.
Tamika smiled, that brief almost-there smile of hers. “It’s okay, Ace. Take your time to process it.”
She hugged his arm and as she walked away, she gave Drew a punch in the arm.
“Hey!” But he was laughing. She flipped the bird without looking back.
“Crazy woman,” Ace said with a smile.
“Yeah, but very smart too.” He gave Ace a level stare.
“What?”
Ace turned to look out again as he’d been doing. Was he in love with Sierra? He did not want to believe that. But he missed her so much, it was practically an ache. And it wasn’t just the fact that he wasn’t sleeping much from wanting her. He wanted to hear her voice. To see the way her eyes flashed and sparked when she was angry with him. He missed the way she called his name with passion.
“Oh yeah, definitely in love.”
Drew’s voice brought him out of his thoughts. Ace turned to look at his friend. He knew his confusion was apparent on his face.
“Shit.”
Drew’s eyes filled with compassion. “You know it’s not a bad thing, right?”
“Shit,” was all Ace could say
.
“I still remember the first time you two met. The electricity you generated could power a small third-world country.”
Ace remembered that day. He remembered the way she smiled, her scent and the sound of her laughter when she called him Sailor. He even remembered what she wore. Ace remembered every single detail about her and the look of sadness in her eyes when she wouldn’t talk about her brother.
“Shit.”
He dropped the cigarette butt on the floor and crushed it with his foot.
“Yeah,” Drew agreed.
Ace turned to look at him and found him gazing into the distance. He had that haunted look on his face he sometimes got when he thought no one was looking. They had been best buddies since the first day of BUD/S training. Each time Ace saw that particular look on Drew’s face, his gut twisted. He knew the grief his friend carried, but beyond that, he knew the weight of the guilt was also crushing him.
“Guys, pow-wow.”
They both turned and saw Tamika by the door. She gestured with her hand. It was time to strategize.
As Drew turned to go, Ace placed a hand on his arm and he paused. He gave Drew a long stare and patted him twice. “You’ll be okay, man.”
The other man’s eyes filled with emotion before they went carefully blank. He nodded.
They both walked into the building.
**
All the four operatives, including Ryan, had their eyes glued to the blueprint projected on the wall. They had an aerial view of the senator’s mansion. The entry and exit points were marked, as well as a huge X, where Sierra was being held.
“There is always one person guarding the door,” Emily placed her pointer on the X. “They change guard every six hours.”
“How do we get in?” Drew asked Emily.
“So it seems we have two options. We could come in through the woods that border the property or through the gate. It is guarded, but we could easily find a way inside.”
The picture zoomed in, then she used her pointer to gesture at the woods that surrounded the senator’s house. He lived in the Lake Forest area, one of the high-end neighborhoods in the city.
Sierra was in that house, tied up like a criminal. Ace clenched his hands into a fist. No, he needed a clear head to do this. He could not afford to let anger cloud his judgment. So he deliberately let his body relax and unclenched his fist. Control was everything.
He looked at the image of the house displayed on the screen. There was a small wooded area surrounding the senator’s house with a clearing that was probably the driveway into the house. He did not notice a perimeter fence, but he knew there would be one. A man as messed up as the person they were dealing with would not leave himself vulnerable like that. It was probably one of those motion triggered perimeter fences.
He turned his attention to the entrance and saw that it had a gatehouse manned by two guards.
“There’s a dinner party at the senator’s.”
All attention focused on Rusty, whose attention was glued to his tablet.
“When is it?” Tamika asked.
“This evening.”
They exchanged glances. It was too good an opportunity to pass up.
“Seems his parties are usually catered.”
They turned to Tamika and she nodded. Tamika was usually their driver when they needed to get away in a hurry. She drove like a woman possessed, but she always got them out of sticky situations. She also had a way of charming vehicles off their owners. So it was agreed, she would get them inside.
“Once you’re in, you will have to deal with the guards that patrol the premises. At each given time, there are eight guards on duty,” Emily said.
Eight guards were not much of a challenge. Any single one of them could take on eight guards without breaking a sweat. However, the problem was not usually the known, but the unknown factor.
“We can’t really tell how many they have on reserve though,” she added.
“How were you able to locate Sierra?” Drew asked Rusty.
Rusty shrugged. “There’s a surveillance camera in that room.”
They all nodded. A surveillance camera could be a problem but there was nothing they could do about it.
“The goal is to be in and out of there as quickly as possible, with no collateral damage,” Emily said.
They all understood what she meant. They were now civilians and if a bevy of dead bodies suddenly showed up littering the city, people would be forced to ask questions. The dinner party would serve as a good distraction, however, if any of the guests were caught in the crossfire, it would be a problem.
Emily turned her gaze towards Ace. “Ace, Drew and Tamika are going in with you.”
“I call bullshit.”
They all turned to look at Ryan.
“Yes, Ryan?” Emily was trying to be patient.
“I’m going on this one,” he stated in a tone that said he was not taking no for an answer.
Emily fixed a steady gaze on him. “I know you can handle this, Ryan. But Drew and Ace have synergy. They’ve been working together since their first day of SEAL training. They read each other’s damn thoughts and that is the kind of seamless energy we need right at this damn moment.”
She had started out sounding reasonable but had let her anger show towards the end.
She continued, “Drew and Ace are handling this with Tamika as the getaway driver. She’s also backup.”
“We’ll get her back, Ryan.” Drew said.
Ace could feel the tension radiating off Ryan. His entire body was stiff and the anger was clear to see in his eyes. After a few minutes, he nodded.
“This is a covert operation. You are to be in and out in less than half an hour.”
Both men shrugged. If things went according to plan, they would be out of there in ten minutes, flat.
They spent the following hours preparing their strategy and tightening the operation. Tamika would waylay the van delivering the food. Ace and Drew would sneak into the van and Tamika would drive them in.
The dinner party began at seven p.m. The caterers would probably set up an hour before. The plan was to delay the van as much as they could so that by the time they arrived, there was a flurry of activity, created by panic. Then they would go in and make sure they had Sierra before the van drove out minutes later.
As they waited for the cover of darkness, Ace was determined and focused on just one thing. Getting Sierra out. He didn’t care how many guards were in that mansion. He was not leaving that place without Sierra and if anything happened to her, he would unleash destruction on that self-serving asshole of a politician.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Later that evening…
The van rolled to a halt and Tamika lowered the glass. She pasted a bright smile for the guard at the gate. “Hi there, delivery for the Coleman party.”
She gave him a once-over as he checked the van. He looked to be about two hundred pounds of solid muscle. He seemed tall, maybe an inch or two over six feet. He had dark glasses on so she couldn’t read his eyes. With a single glance, she could tell he was not ex-military. Just a henchman who earned his muscles at a gym. She scanned the weapon he had hanging from his hip holster. A 9mm pistol, she couldn’t tell the make.
He gave her a nod. Tamika released the clutch and the van rolled onto the grounds. The pictures they had studied did not do the senator’s house justice. The architecture was a period design, similar to what one would find in a British countryside. Really modern Lord-of-the-manor style.
She held her wrist close to her mouth and said, “We’re inside. Going round to the back.”
“Helping ourselves to the canapés,” Drew replied.
“Ace?”
“Yeah.”
“Keep an eye on him.”
“Want me to conk him in the head? Should set him straight in no time.”
“He’s crazy,” she agreed. “Best we wait till we bust this joint.”
“You know you
love me, Tammy babe.”
Tamika rolled her eyes even though she knew they couldn’t see her. “Dream on, stud.”
She heard their laughter as she turned the corner and parked the van neatly just by what she assumed was the kitchen door, exactly as the driver had instructed.
“Alright boys, we’re here,” she said, keeping her tone low as she jumped out of the van. “I’m coming round to open now. Someone’s coming so get out on the double.”
She jogged to the back of the van, pulled open the doors and the two men slipped out, disappearing under the van before she could blink.
“Hey, what took you so long?”
Tamika pulled the baseball cap down over the blonde wig she wore, then peered around the van and saw a man step out of the house. He came close to where she was standing.
“Is everything there? We are running behind schedule…” Then he paused when he saw her. “Where’s Mickey?”
Mickey was the driver of the van and Tamika had no idea where he was. He had been only too happy to take the money she’d offered him and disappear. Of course, the barrel of her Beretta might have been the deciding factor for him.
“Hi, I’m Tammy, Mickey’s sister?” She batted her eyelashes at him. “Mickey was ill so I filled in for him? Hope that’s okay?”
He barely spared her a glance. “Yes, whatever. I hope everything is in there?”
“Ah, I think so? I just drove the van,” she said with a shrug.
He sighed then waved a dismissive hand at her. “Wait here.” Then turned and hurried back inside.
The device on her wrist beeped and Drew’s voice came through, “Hey Tammy, nice teenage girl impression. I’m having dirty thoughts now.”
Tamika snorted, “Pervert.”
She heard their soft laughter and shook her head.
“Okay, baby, we’re in. It’s showtime.”
**
They got in through a window that was left open on the ground floor. The window led into a bathroom. This part of the house was usually left unattended. Ace was the first through the door. He moved with stealth, his back pressed to the wall. He turned around the corner and pressed back into the shadows when he saw two armed men standing around. He signaled to Drew who was close behind him.
Silver Shield Security Box Set Page 16
