Chasing Victory (The Winters Sisters) (9 page)

“Sorry sir, but you did say to get her here by any means necessary. That seemed to be the best way at the time.” Dave responded sheepishly.

“I see. I think we have everything under control Dave,” Braxton said with a wave of his hand. Dave turned and left the room.

“I am truly sorry about you being drugged. Sometimes Dave takes things too literally. Please sit.” He motioned to one of the wing back chairs. “May I offer you a drink, or something to eat?”

“As long as it isn’t spiked,” Victory responded. She still wasn’t certain about the whole situation, but would play along with it for the time being. She knew that they wanted her expertise, and she intended to find out what they wanted her expertise for.

Braxton passed his hand over the top of his desk and a panel lit up. “Sarah, please bring two mint juleps and an assortment of fresh fruit and cheese.”

“Right away sir,” Sarah responded.

“I hope you like mint juleps, they are so light and freshening, perfect for a late afternoon, don’t you agree?” Braxton asked.

“That sounds great,” Victory responded. She was sure that Braxton wasn’t the kind of man used to being disagreed with, so she would bide her time.

Sarah entered the office with a large tray containing two wonderful looking mint juleps, and an assortment of fruits and cheeses that made Victory’s mouth water. She walked over to the large coffee table and set the tray down. Two thoughts came to Victory; first, this woman was good, someone to watch, Victory was sure that she got a glimpse of a gun inside Sarah’s jacket as she bent to put the tray down. Second she couldn’t remember the last time she had eaten.

“Thank you Sarah,” Braxton smiled at her.

“You’re welcome sir. Will there be anything else?”

“Not at the moment,” Braxton said.

Sarah took her leave. Braxton picked up one of the drinks and held it up towards Victory. “Come, sit, enjoy and let’s have a nice visit. I’m sure you will be very interested in what I have to tell you.”

Victory took the glass from Braxton, took a napkin from the tray and a few pieces of cheese and fruit. She sat in one of the chairs and began nibbling on her cheese, waiting quietly for Braxton to start talking.

“I understand you are employed by Claremont Research and you seem to be very loyal to them,” Braxton started.

“I am not only loyal, but I love my career and the people I work with,” Victory added.

“That can only take you so far. You are the department head leading the research for a possible genetic link between canines and humans. You have also spent field time out of the lab trying to locate humans that might possess heightened senses. I believe you have started dabbling in incorporating these canine heightened senses, on a purely cellular basis, of course.”

“Dabbling!” Victory nearly yelled. She was appalled at his cavalier attitude about her work, and besides that how did he know the details? “What I do or don’t do is not dabbling. It is classified, and consequently I will not confirm or deny your description of my employment.”

“Fair enough,” Braxton responded. “However, Claremont is going about this research all wrong. Biotec is currently working on the same type of project. We have the equipment, the people and the financial backing. All I need now is you, Victory, to take the lead and get this research to the next level. I’m not asking for much; give me three weeks of your time. I’m not asking that you quit your current position. I am positive we can work something out.”

“What if I say no? Will you let me walk out of here and go home?” Victory asked, testing the water.

“I guess I would have to. But it would be in your best interest to give me the three weeks. Dave has been keeping close tabs on Payton and Willow. If you are not interested in this position, then I’m sure we could persuade one of your sisters to come work with Biotec.”

“They don’t have the experience that I have.”

“Humm, I see. That might be a problem, for them,” Braxton said.

Victory was indignant. How dare this man threaten her? “Who do you think you are, drugging me, bringing me here against my will, and to top it off you are threatening my family?”

Braxton sat back in his chair sipping his drink. “My dear, it was no threat, merely a statement of fact. I can prove my point, if you like. Isn’t your sister Payton, in Sacramento at a dog show with her motorhome? It would be a shame if her brakes gave out as she was coming down the Shasta Mountains.” 

Victory fully understood the gist of his statement, and felt a cold shiver run down her back. She set her glass and napkin down on the table. She took a hard look at Lawrence Braxton. The gentleman’s demeanor had slipped for a split second, and she saw the dead cold eyes of a killer, one with no soul. In a flash it was gone, and staring back at her was the business tycoon.

“Don’t give me your final answer now. I’m on my way off the island for a meeting. I’ll be back in thirty six hours; I’ll expect your answer then.” Braxton walked back to his desk and ran his hand back over the panel. “Dave, Ms. Winters is ready to return to her room.”

The door to the outer hall opened and Dave walked in. “This way Ms. Winters.”

Victory felt like she was in a dream, or maybe more like a nightmare. Lawrence Braxton had directly threatened her sisters. She followed Dave in a daze to the elevators; he held the door open for her to get in. The ride back down seemed shorted. The elevator stopped and Dave led Victory down the hall. She was still disoriented but even so, this hallway didn’t look familiar. He stopped at a door, opened it and gestured for her to enter. The room was beautiful, with cherry wood floors sprinkled with plush throw rugs. A king size poster bed, a writing desk, two huge overstuffed chairs and one whole wall of windows containing a balcony complete with table and chairs.

“We have provided you with a wardrobe for your stay. You will find everything you need in the bathroom and closet. Your meals will be brought up to you, unless you would like to eat out in the gardens,” Dave said looking down at his watch. “Dinner started fifteen minutes ago and will be available for the next hour.”

Victory’s face lit up at the thought of getting outside. “So, now I’m allowed to go outside.”

“Of course, you’re not a prisoner.” Dave smiled a wicked smirk. “Besides, you are on an island. Enjoy.” He turned and left the room.

Victory listened for the longest time till she could no longer hear Dave’s footfalls in the hall. Then she waited a few minutes longer. She walked up to the door and tried the knob. It turned smoothly. She walked out of her room and began her exploration.

* * *

Logan had landed the helicopter at the nearest helipad on the coast. As he and Tristan got out, they saw a humvee approach.

“He’s right on time,” Logan remarked.

“Would you expect anything else,” Tristan said.

The charcoal humvee came to a stop directly in front of them and Wyatt got out. “Nice to see you Tristan, you too, Logan. I brought all of your gear. This is an under the table mission. Biotec is a very prominent company and until we have something concrete on them we have to tread very lightly.”

“Of course we do. Why is it people with money always get special treatment,” Tristan spat.

“Don’t start, Tristan. I’ve been on the phone all day with General Roberts at the Pentagon trying to convince him to let the two of you go over to the lab, so don’t make a mess of this,” Wyatt said.

Tristan rolled his eyes. “Fine, we’ll watch our step.”

“General Roberts is not convinced that Biotec is behind any of this. The company has a pristine history of being on the cutting edge of disease research. Their primary goal was to improve quality of living,” Wyatt said.

“What better way to improve quality of life than to mess with our genetic makeup, right?” Tristan quipped.

“I suppose that’s one way of looking at it. If that is really what is going on there, we need to know how they are doing it and who they are working with. We can safely assume that they are not in this alone. You guys need to get going, and I’m sure that I don’t have to say this, but be careful and don’t get caught,” Wyatt said.

Logan and Tristan pulled on their wet suits and air tanks, packed up their gear in their waterproof backpacks and headed out towards the ocean. They climbed into the dark blue high-speed boat. The sun was beginning to set, casting a sparkling purple and pink glow over the top of the water. This lighting provided them with a natural camouflage to any passerbys looking out at the ocean.

A few miles away from the island they anchored the boat. They rechecked all their gear and dropped into the frigid water. Tristan and Logan approached the island from the farthest side from the lab. “Let’s take our gear up and find a place to stow it,” Logan said as he peeled the mask from his face.

They moved quickly from the shore getting out of sight as soon as possible. Together they ran for the tree line without a single word, searching for a place to hide their gear.

“Here,” Logan grunted. He was one of the best for finding cover on the fly. He found a small cave right inside the tree line, perfect for getting to and from the water and narrowly large enough for the two of them to squeeze into. They stripped off their scuba gear, unpacked their dry bags and prepared to head for the lab to scout it out. “I think our best bet is high ground,” Logan said.

* * *

Victory sat alone on the edge of a bench under a big evergreen tree. Her back was to the lab and she was looking out at the Pacific Ocean, tears trickling down her cheeks.

“Victory,” came the quiet whisper of her name. Eyelids sparkling with the unshed tears she looked up, and then around her expecting to see someone. “Don’t look around, you can’t see me. I’m on the bluff immediately off to your right, but don’t look over.”

Tristan and Logan had crawled up the side of a bluff overlooking the gardens of the lab. They both laid flat on their stomachs with bushes, twigs, and other vegetation covering their bodies. Each of them held binoculars up to their eyes. They weren’t that far from Victory or the lab, but easily out of ear shot.

On their way up the bluff, Tristan and Logan were updated as to Noah’s status. Payton became hysterical over Victory’s kidnapping insisting to call the police. With Noah’s help, she composed herself and explained to him in detail what Victory witnessed in the forest. She told him about Victory’s ultra keen sense of hearing. The day in the forest had finally fallen into place for Tristan. He understood how the scene played out and relayed it to Wyatt and the team.

“Tristan?” She murmured, sheer surprise on her face.

Now that he could understand. “Yes, it’s me. That’s the only thing I will understand. You can hear me, according to your sister Payton; but unfortunately I can’t hear you. Your sister also said that you know sign language. I happen to have a friend here that knows sign. Keep your hands low, in your lap and my friend Logan will read for me.”

“What are you doing here? I don’t understand. Who are you?” Victory signed, total confusion and anger shown in her face.

“That’s a long story. I work for SOCOM. It’s a unified branch of Special Operations encompassing the Navy, Army and the Air Force. We were already on Jeffery’s trail when you came into the picture. What you need to know right now is that we are with the government and we are here to get you out.”

“What makes you think I believe you? You told me you were a botanist,” she signed.

Logan turned to Tristan. “Seems we are in for a challenge, she doesn’t believe you, Tristan.”

“I’m telling you the truth, Victory. We are here to help you. Why else would the two of us be here?”

“That’s a very good question,” Victory signed back. “Maybe you want my research too.”

“We aren’t here for your damn research. We are here to help you. We don’t have time for this now. We need to get you out as soon as possible,” Tristan said.

“No you can’t. Braxton has threatened my sisters,” she signed.

“Victory, you need to stay calm, you don’t want to draw attention to yourself. What do you mean, Braxton threatened your sisters?” Tristan asked.

Victory closed her eyes, took a deep breath and then relayed the entire conversation between herself and Lawrence Braxton.

Tristan and Logan looked at each other. They didn’t say a word, but they both knew that Braxton had absolutely threatened Willow and Payton.

“Okay, don’t tell anyone about your decision. Meet us back here tomorrow at ten in the morning and we will have a plan.”

She still didn’t trust these two men, but at this point Victory saw no other options. “Is Payton okay?”

“She’s fine. We have one of our best with her,” Tristan said.

“What about Willow?”

“We had Payton call her at the office, she’s okay. Tomorrow, ten, be here Victory. You need to be very careful. The men you are dealing with are extremely dangerous. We have good reason to believe that Braxton is the person that ordered Jeffery’s murder.”

TEN

“No Tristan,” Wyatt said for the fourth time in the last ten minutes.

“Wyatt, stop, take a breath and think about it. We have been trying to get a lead on this for weeks. We knew Jeffery was somehow involved, but not who his contacts were. The fact is we were heading in the wrong direction. It doesn’t look like this is being run by a foreign organization. It’s looking more like someone in our own backyard, and that in itself makes it top priority. We need to get a handle on this and quickly. This situation was dropped in our laps, and it’s the break we have been looking for.” Tristan was pulling out all the stops.

“Do you have any idea how many things could go wrong with this plan?” Wyatt asked.

“What else is new? We’re always hanging out on the line,” Tristan said.

“Can you really handle this cover on the inside? There’s a ton of information you need to know,” Wyatt said.

“I’m not stupid, Wyatt, and I’m not your average Joe. I do have a few degrees, including Biology and Chemistry, so I understand about science. I also have Victory on the inside. She can help me if needed,” Tristan said.

“You hope. But only if she can keep it together.”

“She can. I have watched her for the last week. She can handle this and will do it because it means keeping her sisters safe.”

“Okay Tristan, you win. Let’s get the team together. We have a lot of work to do, especially Jack and we only have-“ Wyatt looked at his watch, “about twelve hours to get this crazy plan worked out.”

Ten minutes later Jack, Logan, Wyatt, and Tristan were gathered around the large oval table in the Situation Room.

“Okay guys, we’re one man down and I really think Noah needs to stay with Payton for now. Especially since Braxton has threatened her. We may try and move her to a safe house after she gets back from California, but for now we are one man short. Braxton wants Victory to give him three weeks on the project. Tristan has come up with a way in. He wants Victory to tell Braxton that she will give him the three weeks, but only if he brings in her lab assistant.” Wyatt said.

All three of the guys looked at Tristan. Logan was the first to speak, a smirk filling his face. “Tristan, an assistant?”

“Yeah, you don’t think I can assist. I can assist,” Tristan shot back.

“Enough guys, we don’t have time for this.” Wyatt knew he had to stop them now or this bantering could go on forever. “Jack you are the lead for this part of the project and are going to be ultra busy. We need an iron clad background. We know Braxton will have his people do an extensive background check on Tristan. No slip ups. Tristan, Logan, you guys are backing up Jack. Our drop dead time is oh seven hundred. At that time, Logan and Tristan need to head back out to the island to make contact with Victory. That’s it. Let’s go to work.”

* * *

Nine forty-five the next morning Victory walked out of the lab and casually strolled toward the gardens. She didn’t want to draw anyone’s attention, so she stopped every now and then to look at a flower or greet the employees she met on the grounds. Out of the corner of her eye she caught movement heading her way.

“Ms. Winters, Ms. Winters.” Victory turned to see Sarah, Braxton’s secretary running towards her. She stopped to let Sarah catch up to her; she certainly didn’t want this woman following her to her destination.

“Yes, Sarah?” Victory greeted her with a smile.

“Sorry to disturb your walk, but I have heard from Mr. Braxton. He will be arriving at noon and he wishes to meet with you as soon as he arrives.”

“At noon? I thought I had at least another four hours.” Victory answered red faced and exasperated.

“I’m very sorry, but Mr. Braxton’s schedule often changes on an hourly basis. I won’t keep you any longer, as I’m sure you have thinking you need to do,” Sarah said.

Victory glanced around her to make certain no one was near. She closed her eyes, took in a deep breath and listened. She heard the chirping of the birds, the sound of the breeze blowing in from the ocean, and bits and pieces of different conversations, but no one took notice of her. She opened her eyes and looked at her watch. “Damn, it’s ten past ten,” she muttered to herself. Picking up her pace she headed for the bench overlooking the ocean. When she finally arrived she sat in the same spot she had the day before, keeping her eyes fixated on the rolling waves.