Defensive Action

by Jenna Kernan

  Ryan did not wait. He jumped into the raised bucket with a red Playmate cooler in one hand and his pistol in the other. Once he was on board, she lifted the bucket higher, giving him the advantage of height as she backed toward the gate. This, unfortunately, left her without the cover in the cab.

  One of the men scrambled to open ground, lifting his weapon. With a flick of the lever she swung the stick left and the smaller bucket and boom forced him to dive into the dust. She maneuvered two levers now, retracting the boom and stick as she curled the bucket to give her some protection from the gunfire. Then she made for the gate.

  From above her, Ryan returned fire. Sparks flew off the metal bucket, but she knew that even automatic weapons could not pierce the steel bucket.

  The backhoe’s windshield shattered as they reached the GMC. Ryan leaped out of the bucket and down the loader arm, reaching the SUV as she threw open the door to the backhoe and jumped to the ground.

  When she threw herself into the passenger seat, he already had the SUV in gear and was flooring the gas, sending a rooster tail of dirt out behind them.

  “Haley, are you crazy?” he yelled.

  “Still think you don’t need backup?” she asked.

  He tore down the road. With the backhoe blocking the only exit from the mining site, they might have a nice head start. But they needed to get to open ground.

  “Check the samples. See if they are all right.”

  Gingerly, she opened the lid of the cooler, opened the case and examined the vials.

  “Intact,” she said and blew away a breath. Then she returned the case to the cooler and capped the lid. “I wonder what these things are exactly.”

  “I don’t know, but I suspect the next person to handle them will be wearing a biohazard suit.”

  He concentrated on driving, taking the turns as fast as he could but still keeping them on the road. Haley buckled up and used the handle beside her door to help keep her in her seat as he raced around curves in the incline.

  “You took a big chance coming back for me,” he said.

  “I sure did.”

  “Very brave,” he added.

  She looked at him with a tight-lipped expression that held both pity and aggravation. But she said nothing more.

  He got them down the mountain road and handed her the phone.

  “Call the last number as soon as you have a signal.”

  She held the phone out as if to coax the wireless connection. They’d nearly reached the highway when her satellite signal returned.

  “Calling,” she said.

  “Put it on speaker.”

  The call connected and Ryan went through a series of words and responses that made no sense to her. But at completion, the man on the other end asked for their location.

  “Route 28, from Indian River, northbound North Lake.”

  “Along the Hudson River,” she added.

  “We’ll pull over when we see you coming.”

  “Roger that.”

  Haley held the phone out even though the caller had disconnected.

  “How do you know that this guy will deliver the goods? Does he work for the Company?”

  “Yes. He’s solid. He’ll bring this to Albany, where the colonel is waiting with a military plane to bring it to Washington, DC. Be there in a few hours if all goes to plan.”

  She looked at him and smiled. “How’s your plan been going so far?”

  He chuckled. His smile dropped away when he glanced in the rearview.

  She used her side mirror and spotted another vehicle behind them. A moment later they veered onto Highway 28. Ryan cut left.

  “Lake George is that way,” she said.

  “It’s downhill. He needs a flat landing pad.”

  The SUV’s engines revved as they sped off. The pickup truck hit the highway four hundred meters back.

  The rhythmic thrum of the blades of a helicopter reached her.

  “Hear that?” she asked.

  “He’s close.” Ryan glance skyward.

  Evergreens lined both sides of the highway with only a narrow strip of tall grass flanking each side of the asphalt.

  “Is it wide enough?”

  “My man can land on a rooftop. And there’s no power lines here. Question is, do we have time for him to land and take off again.”

  “I’ll bring it to him. You give me cover,” she said.

  Ryan stared at her a moment and then nodded. He extended the flash drive. “Put that in the cooler.”

  She did.

  Before them, an orange helicopter appeared. Ryan hit the brakes and turned them sideways, skidding to a halt. The chopper hovered and then descended. Haley jumped from the vehicle and ran, stooped over, through the clouds of burning rubber toward the helicopter, clutching the cooler. She ran as if her life depended on it when, in fact, she knew that many lives depended on it.

  The chopper pilot opened his door and extended his hand for the cooler’s handle, keeping one hand on the controls. In an instant he had a hold and was lifting off, door open. The pressure of the wind and the swirling dust caused Haley to drop to her knees and shield her face from the swirling debris.

  The liftoff temporarily masked the sound of gunfire. But then she heard it. Automatic weapons repeating. She found herself alone on the highway with fifty yards between her and the SUV. Ryan was out of the vehicle and using the engine block as cover as he returned fire. It took her a moment to realize that his opponents were not firing at them. Their weapons were raised as they shot at the chopper, now rocketing toward the tree line to the right.

  She could see the bullet holes appear on the tail section before the chopper swept over the treetops and out of sight.

  The automatic weapons fell silent. Car doors slammed shut. An engine revved. By the time she jogged back to the SUV, their attackers were performing a neat three-point turn on the asphalt.

  “They’re leaving,” she said in confusion.

  He stood to watch them go.

  “Look!” Haley pointed in the direction they had been heading at the line of five full-size SUVs barreling toward them.

  His backup had arrived.

  “More of Siming’s Army?” she asked.

  “Government plates,” he said, pointing at the red, white and blue front tags.

  Haley watched their pursuers speed away.

  “Why didn’t they kill us?” she asked.

  “Killing us wasn’t their mission. Protecting that cooler was.”

  “They failed,” she said.

  “Thank God. Now we’ll have a chance of stopping them from using that toxin on innocent civilians.”

  The motorcade sped toward them and Ryan motioned them on. In a moment they were disappearing after the truck that had shot at the helicopter.

  Haley watched after them for a moment and then turned back to Ryan.

  “You did it,” she said, her smile broadening as she realized they had survived, would survive. Then she remembered that he’d be leaving her again and the smile died.

  Ryan shielded his eyes with his hand as he looked at the clear blue sky.

  “What are you looking for?” she asked, mimicking his stance as she followed the direction of his gaze.

  “A fireball. I thought they hit the chopper early on.”

  “Me, too.”

  “If it crashes, we’ll at least see black smoke.”

  Her jaw gaped as she scanned the impossibly blue sky. Minutes passed and there was nothing. Perhaps they been wrong and their attackers missed it.

  Haley lowered her hand from above her eyes. “I think they missed it.”

  Ryan shook his head. “They didn’t. But maybe they didn’t take it down.” He lowered his hand to his sides.

  “What do we do now?”

  Chapte
r Twenty-Two

  Ryan pushed away from the exterior of the SUV that he had used as a backrest while looking for the chopper. He gripped his hands into fists as he tried to think of how to answer Haley’s question.

  He knew what would happen next. He’d endured many such partings, but up until now, he’d never cared. Now he faced a new dilemma. He did care, too much. Too much to involve her in his crazy choices and too much to let her go. But he’d have to do one or the other.

  Their pursuers were gone and his mission complete, but there would be another mission and another. It was the life he had chosen and up until this moment he’d never questioned that decision.

  Now he did.

  He realized that he did not have to undertake such dangerous field assignments. It had been a choice, was a choice each time. He’d never hesitated until now.

  Now he no longer wanted to die in some glorious and heroic fashion. The entire idea now seemed ludicrous. What he wanted instead was...Haley.

  And a life of loving. He wanted what his parents had shared. The magnificent gift of caring for and being cared for by another. He wanted to gain both the optimism required and commitment necessary to father a child.

  He turned to face Haley.

  “We need to talk,” he said.

  * * *

  HALEY SWALLOWED AND then nodded her consent because she did not trust her voice.

  Ryan left the vehicle and rounded to Haley’s side, opening the door and offering his hand.

  “I didn’t want to do this here.”

  Her palms went wet. He was breaking up with her. She was certain. Why else would he look nervous for the first time since she’d met him?

  It took all her courage. Somehow saying what was trapped inside her was harder than rock climbing or kayaking or cliff jumping. Because the risks here were so much higher. But she was not letting him go without telling him that she loved him because that was a risk she was not willing to take.

  “Ryan, before you say anything, I want you to know that I understand now the importance of the work you do. And that I want to help, keep helping, I mean.”

  “You do?” he asked.

  “I can’t let you go yet.”

  “Why not?”

  She drew a deep breath and held it for a moment, preparing for this metaphysical cliff jump.

  “Because I’ve fallen in love with you.”

  His brows lifted halfway up his forehead as shock registered on his face. Then he smiled. Was that the indulgent smile of a man about to let her down easily or a man truly pleased with her confession? She could not tell.

  Her heart seemed to lodge in her throat like a jagged shard of glass.

  “Haley, this isn’t over yet. I have to get us clear and call in for orders.”

  It was worse than a rejection. It was a stall. She nodded her head, hoping he didn’t see the trembling of her chin. Of course he didn’t want to cut her loose on some highway in the mountains. She was brave enough for bullets but perhaps not brave enough to be rejected by the man she loved.

  They drove to Indian Lake in silence. Once there, the satellite service returned and Ryan stepped out of the vehicle to make his call.

  When he returned to the SUV his expression was grim.

  “Chopper went down,” he said. “They are sending a recovery team.” He brushed his hand over his head, forward and back, then let his hand drop.

  “Not you?”

  He shook his head. “Recovery will be by air.” He glanced toward the tree line. “The bird, cooler and thumb drive are missing with the pilot.”

  “That’s bad.”

  “After all this, we might lose it all. Serum, virus and the intel.”

  Haley’s brows lifted and she had a distinctively guilty look on her face. She twisted her index finger in her opposite fist.

  “Haley? What did you do?”

  “Remember when I told you that this SUV has a special navigation system?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, I tried to explain but you said later. So, this is later, right?”

  He nodded, clearly confused.

  “The navigation system of this vehicle has a feature that could rip any CD placed into the player. That kind of storage system can also load MP3 files because it came with a USB port inside the center console. You could just plug in a memory stick to transfer files and it came with ten gigs of storage.”

  “How do you know this?”

  “Major lawsuit in the tech industry. I pay attention.”

  “And why are you telling me this?”

  “Because I used the MP3-GoGoMaker program in this GMC to copy the thumb drive into the navigation system.”

  “Those weren’t music files,” he said.

  “So they are unreadable by that operating system. But they are still there.”

  “When did you do this?”

  “When you were driving us. I tried to tell you.” She fidgeted, tugging on her earlobe as she waited for his response.

  “But you didn’t. And you disobeyed orders.”

  “They weren’t my orders.” She smiled. “And you knew I was a hacker. It was too irresistible a temptation.”

  Ryan reached across her and pushed open her door. For just a moment she thought this was where he would leave her, after all he had the SUV and the intel stowed in the navigation system. He didn’t need her.

  “We best get this vehicle to my people. Why don’t you drive?”

  “Really?”

  “Safer that way. I’ve got some phone calls to make.”

  He stepped out of the SUV, glancing back through the open door at her.

  She rounded the vehicle and Ryan shut the door behind her.

  Haley sat in the driver’s seat and adjusted the seat, wheel, seat belt and mirrors. Her stomach twisted at the serious expression on Ryan’s face as he climbed into the passenger seat and returned the phone to his pocket.

  “Let’s go.”

  Did that mean let’s get this over with?

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  They drove south to the town of Half Moon, Haley still driving, Ryan still talking on the phone. One of his conversations surprised her. There were no code words or any other secret agent stuff. Just him asking to make an appointment and recording the time and date in the new phone.

  “What was that about? Your injuries?”

  “That’s about seeing a shrink. Sorry, psychiatrist. I’ve seen her before but never bought into the fact that I might actually need to see her.” He faced her.

  “What changed your mind?” she asked.

  He smiled at her, a warm, genuine smile that heated her skin and made her heart jump.

  “You did.”

  She clasped her hands together at her heart. “Really? Ryan, I worked with a wonderful guy and, well, he’s the reason I went into coding. Channeling, he called it, but after all this and what my dad said, I think I have some more work to do as well because I miss getting out there. Not the bullets part, though.”

  He nodded at that. “The bullets seem to be part of my problem. My CO has referred me to a counselor. I can accept what was obvious to you and to my CO. I want to talk to someone about my time in the military.”

  She gripped his hands. “Oh, Ryan, really?”

  He laughed. “Really.” He lifted his brow. “Maybe we can get a group discount.”

  She laughed at that, the relief and the unexpected arrival on the other side of danger filling her with a giddy elation. Driving swiftly along in traffic with the pavement humming beneath the tires just felt right. Heading home, safe.

  “That’s our exit,” said Ryan, pointing.

  Haley made the turn onto the ramp at Half Moon.

  Every time she drove down the Northway with her dad he’d mention that this place had been nam
ed for the Dutch ship the Halve Maen, that sailed up the Hudson River in 1609, captained by an Englishman, Henry Hudson, in the employment of the Dutch Republic.

  Here she finally met Colonel Charles Braiser, who looked more like the owner of the riverside cabin where they stopped than a colonel. His short military-style cut was secreted under a ball cap and his attire was definitely civilian. The man appeared to be in his midforties and fit enough to run a 5K on demand.

  He shook her hand and said words she never expected to hear.

  “Thank you for your service to your country, Miss Nobel.”

  His hand slipped away and she managed to close her gaping mouth.

  The SUV was transferred to a group of fierce, frightening-looking men who appeared as if they would be as comfortable diving headfirst out of an airplane as guarding the intelligence Ryan delivered.

  Once the men were away, the colonel turned to Ryan. “We have a vehicle waiting. Would you like me to have Miss Nobel returned home?”

  Haley held her breath.

  Ryan shook his head. “That won’t be necessary.”

  The colonel did a poor job hiding his surprise.

  “Very well, then. Debrief tomorrow.”

  Ryan gave a crisp salute and then accepted the keys from the colonel. A touch of the fob and a sweet blue Mustang flashed its lights at them.

  It was unfortunate that her first ride in a muscle car would be her last one with Ryan. Those tears threatened again, but she cleared her throat and let herself into the passenger side.

  She didn’t ask why he’d dumped her at the hotel or where he was dropping her. She really didn’t care. Her entire being was fixed on getting through this without weeping.

  When he exited at Colonie, she was not surprised. He was dropping her at her father’s place then. But he was a smart man. He wouldn’t break up with her until they were parked in the driveway.

  Ryan cut the engine and cleared his throat. Haley braced herself.

  He straightened his shoulders as if preparing for battle and muttered “Okay” under his breath. He slipped out from behind the wheel of the sports car and rounded the hood. She had the door open when he reached her but allowed him to assist her up. Man, these Mustangs rode low to the pavement.