Crossfire (Book 1) (The Omega Group) (11 page)

It didn’t take long for Grainger to find the flight plan for
the chartered jet that carried Omega Group agents stateside from Greece. One of
the benefits of working for Daedric was the almost unlimited resources he had
access to and, given enough motivation, there was almost no piece of
information that he couldn’t get his hands on.

And Grainger had all the motivation he needed at this
moment.

The jet, a Bombardier BD-700 Global Express, was scheduled
to land at Deep Forest Airport in less than an hour. Grainger was already in
place where Hodges Boulevard, the only road in or out of the airport, met
Butler Boulevard. He’d pulled his jeep back into the thick woods surrounding
the area and turned his headlights off. Now, all he needed to do was wait for
them to arrive and follow.

Grainger sat in his car, watching the night sky for the
telltale signs of an approaching jet. His future was riding on his ability to
find that young Amazon girl and this was his only lead. He knew there was a
possibility that the Omega Group agents in that plane weren’t going to
rendezvous with the others, but what options did he have?

None of his computer geeks had been able to locate a single
property that might be owned by Omega Group. They searched every private and
public database from Savannah to Orlando and came up empty. Maybe the nerds
needed some of Daedric’s brand of motivation, he thought. His best opportunity
to grab the girl had been earlier today at their headquarters, and he’d blown
it.

So, all of his eggs were in this one basket.

It was a clear summer night with an almost full moon and it reminded
Grainger of his old life. Sitting in a car, stargazing, with Meghan in his
arms. God, she was beautiful. Smart, too. She was way out of his league and he
knew it. She was his high school sweetheart, and they married right after they
graduated from college. He joined the officer’s program in the Army and Meghan
became an elementary school teacher. Even though they were never blessed with
children, Grainger considered himself the luckiest man in the world and pinched
himself daily to ensure it wasn’t all just a dream.

Looking back, that was exactly what it felt like—just a
dream. The thought of never having that life again, of never holding Meghan in
his arms, constricted his chest in a now familiar and painful way.
This is
how a broken heart feels
, he thought.

A red, blinking light in the eastern sky pulled him back to
the present and the job at hand. It was definitely a plane, but that didn’t
mean it was the one Grainger was waiting for. The Jacksonville International
Airport was only a short distance away and could very likely be where this
flight was headed. A few moments later, the flashing red light made a sweeping
turn north, lining itself up with the only runway at this private airport.

Keeping one eye on the approaching aircraft, Grainger checked
his equipment one last time. His 9mm was holstered at his waist, and his LR-300
was lying on the passenger seat, both locked and loaded. Night vision and
infrared goggles were in his satchel, along with an array of electronic spy
gear; trackers, bugs, and jammers. Although his mission tonight was to observe
and report only, after his failure earlier, he wanted to be ready for anything.

The jet made a smooth landing and Grainger checked his
watch. A customs official would be waiting for their plane, so it wouldn’t take
long for them to clear and be on their way—hopefully to his target.

A few minutes later Grainger watched as headlights bounced
off the trees lining the airport’s only road. As their car slowed to a stop at
Butler Boulevard, a passing car’s headlights illuminated enough of the interior
for him to make out two figures in the front: one male and one female.
Signaling their intentions to turn right, they waited for a break in traffic
and joined the rest of the vehicles driving toward the beach.

Following a vehicle always had its difficulties, but
following one at night, Grainger knew, was a whole different ball game. Brake
lights all looked the same after a while so he couldn’t afford to hang back and
risk mixing up his prey with another vehicle and following the wrong people all
night.

Once the Omega agents turned off the main highway, it became
easier for him. Fewer cars on the roads meant a better chance of them spotting
his tail, but it also meant that he could follow from a greater distance and
not lose them.

When they turned into an upscale neighborhood near the
beach, Grainger turned his headlights off and followed. It looked more and more
like these two agents were heading to a vacation house rather than meeting up
with their team, but he stayed with them anyway.

As he watched them pull into the driveway of an expensive
ranch style-house, Grainger felt his heart sink. They were his only lead to
find the girl and he’d just followed them to their romantic getaway. Daedric
wouldn’t accept this failure, and Grainger had no other leads to offer.
Resigning himself to the fact that his life was now over, he drove past the
house to exit the neighborhood. When he was even with the driveway, he noticed
that there were several other vehicles parked there, including one hell of a
nice Ducati motorcycle.
Definitely not a romantic getaway
, he thought.

Parking his jeep on the closest side street, Grainger
watched the front of the house in his rearview mirror. If this really was the
Omega Group’s safe house, and if the girl really was inside, he might get out
of this whole Daedric nightmare unscathed. Maybe. But he couldn’t afford any
more mistakes. He had to be sure. Grainger disabled the interior light and
quietly exited the vehicle with his weapons and satchel in tow.

“Someone’s here.” Mirissa didn’t know how she knew it, but
she did.

Just then, the front door opened and two people entered the
house. A man, about thirty years old with coffee colored skin and eyes to
match, and a petite woman with short, spikey brown hair and bright green eyes
that almost glowed. They both looked tired as they made their way into the
living room and virtually fell onto the couch.

“How was your flight?” Myrine asked.

“Uneventful. The best kind. What’s been going on here? Any
new information?” The man yawned as he asked the question, which made Mirissa
yawn also. The trend continued as everyone in the room followed suit.

“Yes,” Myrine started, “but let’s make the introductions
first. Orano, Beck, this is my husband, Steve.” All three shook hands and
exchanged pleasantries. “And this is my daughter, Mirissa.” Orano’s
outstretched hand met nothing but air as Mirissa spun around to look behind
her. Looking left then right, she slowly turned herself around and tentatively
shook his hand, then Beck’s.

“Nice to meet you,” she said absently.

“Is something wrong?” Myrine looked concerned.

“I’ve just got the strangest feeling that…” Mirissa shook
her head and gave them a weak smile. “It’s nothing. I’m just tired.”

“Mirissa, you are coming into unknown powers. You can’t
dismiss anything. What are you feeling?”

“I can’t really explain it. I’ve got a strong feeling that
someone is here. At first I thought it was Orano and Beck, but the feeling just
keeps getting stronger. I would swear that someone is right outside the house.”

Without waiting for instructions, Ken tapped in commands on
his laptop computer. The screen filled with a blueprint of the house and
grounds. A few more taps on his keyboard and the image moved to the big screen
TV so everyone could see. Each room of the house blueprint was outlined in
green, with another green line encircling the entire house. The grounds were
separated into seven zones—two in front, three in back, and one on each
side—all of which filled with green shading.

“Security is showing no threats. No one unwelcome has
stepped foot on the property.” Ken changed the screen to the camera feeds from
the yard, scrolling slowly through each one. From every angle the yard was
clear.

“I’m probably wrong anyway. Like I said, I’m really tired
and I guess, after today, I’m just jumping at shadows. Sorry for the false
alarm.”

“It’s all right, sweetheart. It’s been a really long day for
all of us.” Turning to Ken, Myrine said, “Just to be on the safe side, run a diagnostic
on the entire system. I want to be sure we’ll know about any unwanted
visitors.”

Steve joined the conversation for the first time since
Mirissa had come back from Tritonia. “Um, this might be a stupid question, but
people have been coming to the house all day and no alarms have gone off. Are
we sure that your system is even working at all?”

Myrine smiled. “Our security system is beyond
state-of-the-art. It has sensors that are programmed to allow each member of
our team access without raising the alarm.”

“Facial recognition?” Steve asked.

“No. That’s too unreliable. Our sensors are outfitted with
preternatural technology. Each of us gave DNA samples and the system uses them
to determine what tribe a visitor belongs to. If it’s one of ours, the alarms
don’t activate. If not, all hell breaks loose.”

Mirissa noticed Greco standing by the kitchen, fidgeting
with his fingernails. When he looked up, he saw her looking at him and
immediately crossed his arms over his chest. He seemed agitated.

Her attention was once again drawn back to her mother as she
spoke. “There isn’t much more we can do tonight. Julian will let us know when
he finds something. Why don’t we call it a night? We could all use the sleep.”

Heads nodded in agreement and one by one the group
dissipated. Mirissa decided the couch looked as comfortable as any bed she’d
slept, in so she grabbed a pillow and a blanket from her mother and promptly
fell into an exhausted sleep.

She was once again in the clearing on the island of
Tritonia. She and Asteria were sparring like they’d done on her first trip
there. Both of them were moving impossibly fast, attacking and defending then
attacking again. Then the scenery around her—the trees, the other Amazons, the
statue—melted away and became the dojo she’d spent years training in. She was
thirteen years old again. Her father sat proudly in the front row of plastic
chairs, surrounded by the families of the other contestants. Mirissa bowed to
her opponent, a boy of the same age wearing a junior black belt like hers, and
the match began. He struck out first, but Mirissa easily blocked his kick. Her
roundhouse landed squarely on the left side of his headgear, knocking him to
the ground. The look in his eyes told her everything she needed to know. Slow
down. Don’t let anyone see how easy this really is for you.

She turned to look at her father, but he was no longer
there. The barn at the Baxter’s farm had replaced the dojo. She was in the ring
with Greco.

Mirissa’s eyes shot open and she bolted from the couch. She
had to speak with Greco. Throwing open the door to the den, she grabbed his
shoulder and shook him awake.

Greco rubbed his eyes and pushed himself to a sitting
position on the same couch Mirissa had used when she went to Tritonia. “What is
it? What’s wrong?”

“How did you get in?” Mirissa was standing over him with her
arms crossed.

“What?” Greco looked like he was trying to fight through the
grogginess but wasn’t winning the battle.

“The house. How did you get in?”

“Jesus, Mirissa. It’s the middle of the night. Go back to
bed.” Greco put his head in his hands, scratching the back of his neck.

“This house has a preternatural security system that uses
DNA to determine if someone can pass. When I had my episode in the kitchen, you
walked right in. How did you do that?”

Greco took a deep breath then exhaled loudly. With his
elbows on his knees he turned his head and looked at Mirissa. “Can we talk
about this tomorrow? Please?”

“No. What aren’t you telling me?”

With one last, defeated breath, Greco leaned back against
the couch and motioned for Mirissa to sit in the chair across from him. “I’m
not just your Guardian. I’m also an Amazon.”

Mirissa’s jaw dropped open as she stared at him. “You’re
what?”

With an annoyed huff, Greco simply said, “You heard me.”

“But that’s impossible. You can’t be an Amazon. You’re a…
you’re a…”

“I’m a guy. I know.” Greco stood and walked to the small
window that overlooked the pool in the backyard. “It’s kind of a long story.
Suffice it to say that I was a bit of a surprise to my mother, and all of the
other Amazons.”

“So, that’s why I could go full out when we sparred
together? You have the same attributes that I do.”

“No. I have the same attributes as all the others of our
kind, but not you. You are as different from them as I am, just in another
way.”

Mirissa’s voice grew quiet as she stepped over to where he
stood. “Why didn’t you tell me? I thought we were friends?”

Greco turned to look at her. He put his hand on her cheek in
a show of affection that was so utterly out of character that Mirissa gasped at
the touch.

“I’m sorry. It was”—he paused, and seemed to be looking for
the right word—“difficult for me growing up. My mother didn’t handle it well.
She was shocked when her doctor told her she was pregnant with a boy, even
considered terminating the pregnancy. My father talked her out of it but he
couldn’t change how she felt. She considered me a travesty of nature and had no
problem letting me know it. She kept me hidden away from the tribe for years,
telling them that she’d miscarried. I guess she was worried about how they’d
react.”

Mirissa watched his eyes as he replayed some obviously
painful scene from his childhood in his mind. In the year she’d known Greco
he’d never opened up to her about anything, especially not something so
personal. Her heart swelled as she looked at him through new eyes. Although she
wanted him to tell her everything right away, she could see that it was painful
for him to talk about, so decided to let it go. For now.

“Someday, you can tell me the whole story,” she said. “For
now, just promise me that you won’t hide anything else from me. You’re my
Guardian and my friend. You can tell me anything. I trust you and you need to
trust me, too.” Mirissa gave him a kiss on his cheek and left the room, closing
the door behind her.

********

Greco turned back toward the window and considered what had
just happened.

Mirissa had looked hurt when she found out that he’d held back
information from her. He’d expected suspicion, disdain, superiority—all of the
things he’d become accustomed to in his life—but not hurt. She actually seemed
to really care about him.

Greco wondered how much longer she would feel that way after
she learned the real truth.