"I never told you . . . how I felt about it."
Her hand dropped into his lap, and he moved it aside. It wasn't intentional; her brain was shutting down. Nathan knew her plight well-the twilight of pending unconsciousness. He was no stranger to surgery. Most people didn't mind the anesthetic buzz. Not him. It brought back wretched memories. Montez had given him all kinds of drugs. Heroine. LSD. Crack. Quaaludes. And yes, Special K. You name it, he'd gotten it. There'd been times when he didn't know what was real . . . even the torture. The grisly proof came later. Maybe Hell wasn't a physical place. Maybe it was an ethereal morass of twisted reality designed to tear a human mind to shreds. If so, Nathan was glad he'd never found out. He didn't blame LG for being captured in Nicaragua, never had. Yes, she'd been in command of the Echo missions, but unforeseen things happened. Not every contingency could be predicted.
He wanted to reconnoiter the area, but that meant leaving LG alone, something he wouldn't do until he went back inside for the unconscious intruder. More gunmen could be converging to this location.
He tested LG with a nudge and got no response. Gone. After circling to the opposite side of the tree, he took a knee in a defensive position from which he could see LG and the expanse of lawn extending to the house. If anyone approached from that direction, he'd see them. What he wouldn't give for a thermal imager right now.
That's two slip-ups tonight. He'd forgotten his TI and missed a shot.
There was no denying it: Being a CIA operations officer wasn't the same as riding a bike. True, you never forgot the basic skills, but others needed constant practice-like situational awareness. Fortunately, that particular skill wasn't rusty or he wouldn't have noticed movement to his right.
Advancing cautiously, another gunman wearing NVGs eased along the wall of Linda's home.
Good thing the guy didn't have a thermal imager, because he and LG would've been bright objects-impossible to miss.
An insecure shiver tightened his skin. Cantrell's call was still active!
If she came back on . . .
Although his phone was set to vibrate and minimum brightness, a good pair of NVGs would still detect its glow, even through the fabric of his waist pack. The best mitigation he had was flipping it over, so the screen faced inward. Turning it off would take too much time.
Strike three. He was now at risk from his damned cell phone.
What's next?
He forced the thought aside and studied his new opponent. The gunman's movements were measured and sharp. Whoever these guys were, they weren't rank amateurs. Dressed and armed exactly like his fallen comrades, this guy was definitely one of the intruders.
Clearly, this gunman planned to enter LG's house; he was headed toward the library's door.
He estimated the distance at slightly more than thirty yards. Not ideal for night pistol work, but well within his effective range.
In ten more steps, the gunman would be at the door. Since Nathan still needed to reenter LG's house to secure the prisoner, he couldn't allow this man to go inside.
He made the decision. This was an enemy combatant who wasn't unconscious on the floor. If he didn't take this guy out right now, he'd regret it later. He had to think about LG's safety. And Harv's. Not to mention his own.
Using two hands to keep the branch from shuddering, he carefully picked an orange and hurled it behind the gunman.
It skipped off the grass and smacked the house.
The gunman spun and froze.
Perfect.
He used the tritium sights on his Sig to line up on the man's torso but held off activating the laser. He didn't want to paint his target until the last possible second. Lighting the guy up too soon would give his position away, especially to an opponent with NVGs. The gunman's ultrasensitive device would see his Sig's laser beam suspended in the light rain, providing a precise vector to his position. Once Nathan activated the laser, he'd have less than two seconds to send a bullet.
He steadied his elbow on a knee and pressed the laser's button.
In the image of his night-vision scope, a bright green dot formed on the man's chest.
Rather than react instantly by dropping to the ground or ducking for cover, the gunman looked down at himself.
Bad move.
Nathan adjusted his aim above the man's body armor and stopped at the gunman's neck to avoid hitting the NVGs or helmet.
By the time his opponent realized what was happening, it was too late.
Nathan squeezed the trigger.
The image brightened for an instant. Even suppressed, the Sig's discharge lit the area like a camera flash.
He reacquired the target, but a second bullet wasn't needed. The man was down, unmoving. Thankfully, Cantrell hadn't come back on his cell.
The instinct to relocate tugged at him, but he fought it off. He needed to stay close to LG. Given this was still an active site, carrying or dragging her to a new location wasn't a viable option.
He was about to check on her when his radio earpiece came to life with Harv's voice.
In perfect Russian, Harv said, "I'm twenty seconds from the hairpin."
Nathan responded in kind. "How fast did you come down the Five?"
"One-forty. I pissed off quite a few drivers."
He knew his friend would speed, but 140 miles per hour? "Keep going and park a few houses short of Linda's driveway to the east. We've still got an active site. I'm on the west side of her property, where I just dropped an intruder. Linda's been drugged, but she's okay. Her husband's KIA. There's a northsouth row of citrus trees along the west wall. We're behind the second one on the north end. I'm staying put. Come in from the east and use your TI. These guys are hard to see with NV."
"Then we're already in a shoot-to-kill situation?"
"Yes. I'm on hold with our friend on the Potomac so I may have to cut this short. Proceed slowly. I'm secure for now. Check in as you progress through Linda's yard. I doubt they have a perimeter sniper or I'd be dead. Our bad guys look like SOFs. They're wearing digital camo with backpacks, waist packs, face paint, the works. They're also using NVGs, but I don't think they've got thermals."
"How are they armed?"
"Suppressed MP5s, probably set to three-round bursts."
"Copy. I'll check in once I'm approaching LG's property on foot. If there are any dogs around, they'll blow my stealth."
"I think we're in spoiled-dog territory. I doubt any of them sleep outside, especially in the rain."
"Yours sure don't."
"Point taken. Nobody barked at me as I came up the canyon. I think you'll be okay."
"On the satellite photos, I saw a security wall along the front of her property. I'll have to find a good place to scale it."
Nathan didn't like that idea. He'd rather have Harv climb over the wall where he could watch his friend's back. "Harv, I'm changing the plan. Leave your headlights on and cruise past her place. Park two hundred yards west of her driveway and hop the wall at the southwest corner."
"No problem. I just reached the hairpin."
"I've got you. I can see your bleed headlight in the treetops."
"Is LG with you?"
"Affirm. Did you hear any sirens?" Nathan knew Harv would've rolled his windows down once he got within half a mile.
"Not yet."
"I've got RC checking with local police to see if a unit's been dispatched. With a little luck, none are coming."
"She'll want her own people to secure Echo One's house."
"No doubt, but we aren't hanging around until they arrive. We're bugging out. Our friend is back on the line, gotta go."
He put the phone to his ear.
"Was that Russian?" Cantrell asked. "What's going on?"
"Just me talking to Echo Four. We're using our radios."
"SDPD hasn't been dispatched. I've got a team on the way and I don't want you there when they arrive."
"I was hoping you'd say that."
"Count on twenty-five minutes. Take Echo One with you. Can you transport her?"
"Yes."
"Is she unconscious?"
"Yes. With your team coming, I assume you don't need us to photograph the intruders?"
"My team will handle that. In twenty-three minutes, I want you to clear her property and observe from safe distance. As soon as you see two vehicles enter her driveway, take off and don't look back. Echo One's in your care until we sort out the security breach."
"I hear you. No one should've been able to get her home address, especially foreign nationals."
"I seriously doubt Echo One accidentally leaked it. From this point on, the only people who will know her whereabouts are you, Echo Four, and me. Meanwhile, I've dispatched a specialist to handle the intruder. Maybe we'll get somewhere with him."
Nathan knew what she meant. "That won't break my heart. Do you know what this is about?"
"Not over the phone. Remember when I said you're never retired?"
Nathan didn't need to say anything.
"You and Echo Four are vested in this," Rebecca said. "Secure our guest and call me after my team arrives."
"I promised Echo One I'd look after her dogs until she's back on her feet."
"Low priority."
"I gave her my word."
Cantrell didn't respond and Nathan didn't interrupt the silence.
"Where are they?" she asked at last.
"Upstairs, in the bedroom closet."
"Let my team handle them."
"Echo One said their collars and leashes are in a kitchen drawer."
"I'll pass it on. One of my officers will pack up the dogs and meet you later for the exchange."
His phone went dark.
I should be careful what I wish for. I told Harv I was bored.
CHAPTER 6.
Two minutes later, Nathan's earpiece came to life with Harv's voice, still in Russian. "I'm parked. I'll be at the corner of her property in under a minute."
"Copy that. I'm looking at the spot where you'll hop the wall."
Linda's eyes were closed and she took long, slow breaths. If not totally unconscious, she was in a twilight state.
Again, he wondered why she'd been targeted, and why now? Rebecca said she had an idea about what was going on and Nathan intended to find out. Someone had gone to a great deal of trouble attempting to get their hands on her.
"Okay, I'm at the corner of the wall."
"Stand by, Harv. I'm going to relocate to the closest citrus tree. Ten seconds. I'll be able to see the entire front and side yards from there."
"There's no activity out here."
Nathan clicked his radio and hustled south along the row of trees. Detecting no one, he radioed the all clear to Harv.
His friend appeared at the top of the wall and, without hesitating, dropped to the grass. He hasn't lost much. Scaling a solid eight-foot wall took strength and skill and Harv made it look easy.
Nathan stepped into Harv's line of sight. "You got me?"
"You're hard to miss."
"Do a thermal scan from there. You'll see two casualties."
"I've got them. I'm not detecting anyone else."