Dangerous Liaisons (13 page)

Jesse cursed the full moon. She crouched beside Cole within the shadows of the palm and banyan trees beside the wall outside Menendez’s hacienda. Once they got over the wall, the moonlight would prove a huge liability.

Cole leaned a shoulder against the wall and cupped his hands between his knees. Jesse stepped into his laced fingers and he hoisted her up. She gingerly ran her fingers along the top of the wall until she found two spots devoid of embedded glass shards and pulled herself up enough to peer over the wall at the mansion. The light in Menendez’s study glowed through the curtains of double French doors. She scanned the grounds for guards, found the area deserted, then lifted herself onto the wall. Two seconds later, Cole hoisted himself up beside her, and they dropped onto the ground.

He pointed to his eyes, then pointed to either side of a gnarled banyan tree with a trunk ten feet thick. She understood that he’d keep watch from the cover of the tree as she ran ahead. Jesse ran to the right of the banyan and Cole to the left. She hurried around the tree, crawled under a low palm and halted. Palm trees dotted the grounds. To her left, Cole emerged at the base of a pigmy palm twenty feet away. He opened his hand, palm down, indicating all clear from his vantage point.

A shadow, then a red ember flared in Jesse’s peripheral vision. She pressed closer to the tree as a man with a machine gun slung over his shoulder ambled along the path that encircled the house. He took another drag on his cigarette. He might as well be a flashing lighthouse. The guard abruptly turned on his heel and strolled back the way he’d come. Once he disappeared around the corner of the house, Jesse turned to Cole and pointed at the mansion.

He sprinted across the yard, running low from tree to tree. Jesse followed, dodging two palms, then a third, before reaching the south wall of the mansion behind Cole. She sidled between bushes shading the foundation, hugged her back to the wall, then pressed the audio button on her watch. “Twenty-three, fourteen,” the voice said. Another fifteen minutes before Menendez left for his rendezvous with his lover.

Cole reached into the side pocket of his ops vest, withdrew the cell phone scrambler, switched it on, and laid it between the bushes and the house. The light in the study went dark. He exchanged a glance with her, then stepped from the bushes and linked his fingers for another boost up. Within the bushes, Jesse pretended to swat a bug on her ankle and snapped off the cell phone scrambler.

She squeezed through the bushes, then grasped his shoulder and stepped into his cupped hands. He launched her upward. She was airborne for an instant, then threw both arms around one of the thick columns that supported the balcony railing. She shimmied up the stone baluster, adrenaline pounding through her veins.

Jesse reached the railing, wrapped her arms around the cold stone of the column, and tapped her feet together. Cole leaped, caught hold of her right ankle, then grabbed her left. She felt the strain in her arms and healing shoulder muscles as she pulled him up with her legs until he reached the bottom lip of the balcony.

He grabbed the balcony lip. With the sudden release of dead weight, she scrambled over the railing, followed by Cole. They hit the stone balcony noiselessly, paused for a split second, then rushed to opposite corners near the house. Jesse tensed in anticipation of the guard who would be patrolling the section of ground below in three minutes or less.

Two minutes later, steps sounded to the right. A guard stopped, waited for a few seconds, then returned the way he came. Jesse glanced at Cole. He nodded at the doors. She sidled to the double French doors and tried the handle. Locked. She squatted, pulled a stiff plastic card from her front pocket, then worked it between the doors until the latch popped. She stepped inside the study with Cole inches behind.

Jesse donned the UV glasses. The interior lit up in a blue glow around her. A second later, another glow appeared around Cole. He faced her. Two brilliant points of light shined from the temple hinges. She pulled her glasses down her nose and peered over the frame. No light leaked from Cole’s glasses into the pitch-black room.

Jesse pushed the glasses up and scanned the room. A massive oak desk and two carved guest chairs dominated the left side of the room. The Persian rug reminded her of the one in her grandfather’s dining room. To the right, four armchairs encircled a coffee table. The odor of cigar smoke hung in the air. Floor to ceiling bookcases lined the walls, broken by an eight-by-five-foot, solid wood door. The high ceiling and the corners of the room lay in shadow, revealing the range limit of the UV glasses. Dammit, no computer.

“I’ll take the desk,” Jesse whispered into the mic.

Cole nodded and headed toward the big door. “I’ll comb the bookcases.”

She went to the desk. The judge had a Tiffany banker’s lamp and hand-carved humidor for his cigars. Only the best for high-paid criminals. Jesse reached into her vest as she dropped to a squat beside the desk, pulled out the air link sniffer and hit the on button. Three lights lit, then two went dark, leaving only the power indicator lit. She glanced over the top of the desk at Cole’s back.

Jesse looked back at the sniffer. A second green light now glowed.

The sniffer had located a cell-phone signal.

Jesse forced a deep breath in an effort to slow her pounding heart and pushed the sniffer under the desk until it touched the back, then stood. A dozen legal-sized documents were stacked in two neat piles on the desk. She rifled the pages and found common court proceedings. A tug on the top drawer found it locked. She retrieved her lock picks and got to work.

She had the drawer open in fifteen seconds; meanwhile, Cole had worked his way through three of the bookcases. The top drawer of the desk held pens, pencils, and paperclips. Jesse halted. An address book. Adrenaline pumped through her. She cast a glance at Cole. Still busy with the books. She opened the address book to P. No Perez. She set the book on the desk and began snapping photos of each page.

Five minutes later, she was rifling through the bottom drawer when Cole whispered over the radio, “A safe.”

Jesse turned. He squatted before an open cabinet at the bottom of a bookcase. The UV light illuminated a small safe about eighteen inches square. She hurried to the cabinet and squatted beside Cole. The safe was a low-end Englemier, with a four-tumbler dial lock. She removed her glasses to save battery power, then nudged Cole with her hip. He scooted aside. She shifted to her knees in front of the safe and rotated the dial two turns right, then two turns left. The mechanism hadn’t been well maintained in the humid tropical climate. The tumblers vibrated under her fingers.

She rubbed her fingers together to stimulate blood flow, then pressed an ear to the safe and slowly turned the dial, sensing even before she felt each tic of the tumbler. Three turns to the right, the first tumbler engaged. Turning left, the drag of the first tumbler gave her hope. She rotated the dial two full turns and missed the second tumbler on the way around. Cole’s warm breath bathed her neck. A shiver raced down her back.

Five minutes later, the last tumbler clicked into place. She looked at Cole and twisted the lever, her gaze locked with his as the door opened without a sound. He gave a nod of appreciation.

Jesse donned the eyeglasses and reached inside. On the top shelf, she found a million in pesos, ten thousand American dollars, a dozen bearer bonds, and a small jewelry box. The bottom of the safe held a stack of expandable legal folders. The top folder contained the judge’s will and family birth certificates. She motioned for Cole to photograph the documents. Other folders contained deeds to various properties, stocks, more bonds, bank statements and incorporation documents. Another ten minutes passed before they’d photographed all the documents. Jesse returned the folders to the safe in the order in which she’d found them, closed the door, and spun the lock.

The light from Cole’s glasses flickered, then extinguished. Out of power. Hers were next. She checked her watch. Twenty-seven minutes. They had been there too long.

Footsteps sounded in the hall.

Jesse and Cole shot to their feet. The footfalls stopped at the study door and they exchanged glances. Jesse swallowed the fear that lodged in her throat. Cole dashed toward the balcony doors.

A key jiggled in the door lock.

No time to retrieve the sniffer or lock the desk drawer. She rushed toward the balcony. A loose page fluttered off the desk as she passed.

The doorknob turned.

Jesse dove onto the balcony. Cole eased the door shut and the study light snapped on as they dove for opposite corners of the balcony. She yanked off the glasses and stuffed them in an inside vest pocket. A door closed inside the room. No sound of footfalls on the carpeted floor. She peered through a gap in the curtains. Menendez’s butler, Alfonzo, stood in the doorway looking around the room.

She tensed as his gaze settled on the paper that had fallen to the floor. He walked to the paper, picked it up, then slowly looked around the room before placing it on top of the documents on the desk. Jesse’s heart pounded. Had she closed the desk drawers? She had pushed the sniffer under the desk against its back wall, but if Alfonzo stepped left, the green lights might catch his attention.

He took three steps to the coffee table and reached inside his breast pocket. Jesse unsnapped the safety strap on the Beretta at her hip, then paused when he produced a white handkerchief. In what appeared to be an automatic reaction, he picked up the ashtray, stepped to the desk, dumped ashes into the trashcan, then began polishing the ashtray. His gaze swept the room.

Jesse’s mouth went dry.
He knows.

Out the corner of her eye, she saw Cole motion to leave. She shook her head, then returned her attention to Alfonzo as he set the ashtray on the coffee table. He headed for the balcony doors. She pulled back against the wall. A second later, the door handle jiggled.

Jesse swung her gaze onto Cole. He gripped his gun with both hands, the weapon pointed skyward beside his head. Now, who was the one ready with guns blazing? The door handle stilled. Jesse counted off ten seconds before the room went dark. The study door closed with a soft click.

She glanced at Cole. He held up a fist and nodded at the balcony doors. He was right. Alfonso might still be in the room. She nodded, then pressed the talk button on her watch. “Twenty-three, forty-two,” the watch cooed into her earpiece.

Jesse pulled back against the wall. Time for the guard to make another round. She caught Cole’s attention, pointed to her watch, then down at the ground. He melted back into the corner and they waited. The guard came and went. No one burst from the study. Her heart slowed.

“Let’s move out,” Cole said.

Jesse shook her head. She pulled the glasses from her vest. “We didn’t find anything. I have to finish the desk.”

She started to turn, but Cole grabbed her arm. “I don’t like it.”

“You forget, I’m Blue Team, covert-ops. This is my expertise.”

He didn’t release her.

“This is our only shot.” She put the glasses on. “I’ve got a few minutes of power left and I’m not leaving until I’ve found what I’m looking for or run out of juice.”

He hesitated, then nodded.

Jesse unstrapped her Beretta and pulled it from the holster, then nodded. Cole slid his plastic card between the doors. She held her breath in the seconds it took him to disengage the lock. When he soundlessly eased the bolt back and inched the door open, she stepped inside, weapon ready. The glow from her glasses swept across an empty room.

“All clear,” she whispered. “Wait outside.”

He stepped onto the balcony, leaving the door open.

Jesse reached for the door and started to close it, but Cole stopped it an inch from the latch. She released the handle. Insisting he close it all the way would rouse suspicion. She took a step toward the desk. Light flickered and her glasses shut down, plunging the room into total darkness. Damn. So much for searching the rest of the desk.

Jesse took two steps, felt the desk with an outstretched hand, then eased around to the front. Sliding her Beretta into its holster, she knelt in front of the desk. Three lights glowed green on the sniffer. She snatched the device and opened the lid. A single phone number glowed on the display. She memorized the number, then hit the reset button, clearing the screen. Maybe her gamble had paid off.

The study door swung open with a bang. The light snapped on.

Jesse jerked her gaze to the guard standing in the doorway as the balcony door struck the wall with a crash. She reached for her weapon. The guard’s eyes widened in the instant before he swung an AK-47 in her direction. She ducked and rolled. Cole fired. She rebounded to her feet, Beretta aimed at the doorway. The guard went down, but another filled his place. She fired and the second man crumpled against the doorjamb.

“Go!” Cole shouted and retreated a step.

Jesse sprinted toward the door. A shot fired and the sniffer flew from her hand, wrenching her wrist. Pain raced up her arm. Cole fired three shots into the hallway as cover. A bullet whizzed past her ear as she dove onto the balcony.

“Move!” she shouted, and leaped to her feet.

She bounded four paces and vaulted the rail. A second of weightlessness, then impact with the ground, and she rolled. Cole landed beside her. Shouts sounded overhead as she sprang to her feet. A guard appeared at the balcony railing. She shot twice, saw him topple over the railing, and sprinted toward the trees. Cole fired twice. A single, wide search beam split the darkness above them.

Booted feet pounded pavement amid shouts of “Hondole, amigos, Vamanoos!” as they headed across the open grounds.

Jesse pumped her legs faster. Ahead, the floodlight illuminated the west wall and raced along the perimeter. If they went over the wall where the light had already passed, they’d make it. Outside lights lit the hacienda like a refinery.

The spotlight swung onto the ground on an intercept. Fear twisted her belly. Machinegun fire erupted from the north side of the hacienda. Jesse glanced left. Armed men poured from a doorway. She tore her attention from the men and back onto the spotlight. Two seconds until intercept. They would never make the wall under the cover of darkness.

“Amanda,” she choked.

A hand seized her arm and yanked her backward. She struck a hard body as the beam of light cut across the grass in front of them. Jesse registered Cole’s warmth an instant before he shoved her forward and sprinted for the wall. She stumbled, then righted herself, spurred on by the rat-a-tat-tat of AK-47 fire ripping the ground on her right.

Light sliced the darkness, illuminating the wall ahead. She and Cole reached a dark portion of the wall and slammed their weapons home. Cole threw his shoulder against the wall, cupping his hands. Jesse stepped into his intertwined fingers in simultaneous motion with his upward shove. She caught the wall and pulled herself up despite the pain in her wrist. Cole leaped up, grabbed the ledge, and pulled himself to the top. They dropped side-by-side to the ground outside the compound.

Jesse scanned the area. No guards outside the wall.
Yet.
Over the shouts from the compound, the creak of the west gate warned her they had seconds to reach their vehicle. She raced forward, Cole alongside. A moment later, they plunged into the jungle. Only filtered moonlight penetrated the canopy. Jesse slowed and reached out to Cole as she pulled a compass from her vest. She pressed the light button.

“Turn right,” she ordered, and veered in that direction.

They had put thirty meters between them and the compound when the howl of dogs rolled through the jungle.

“Damn,” Jesse hissed.

“
Move
,” Cole ordered.

The barking became abruptly louder and she knew the dogs had cleared the compound walls. She and Cole covered another twenty meters. If they didn’t reach the Harvester soon, the dogs would catch them. She glanced at Cole. His arms worked at his sides, but she could tell he was holding back.

“Go on ahead,” she panted.

They burst through a line of elephant’s ear.

He kept pace with her.

“Cole.”

“I won’t leave you,” he said without turning his head.

“Start the Harvester,” she ordered. “I’ll be ten seconds behind.”

He didn’t reply.

She’d be damned if the remaining team member got himself killed on her account.