Last Spy Standing (10 page)

Part of her wanted to warn Mitch about Umberto, but doing it without anyone hearing didn’t seem possible at the moment. And Mitch wasn’t talking to her anyway. He was just going to have to handle any trouble he got himself into. Her first priority was her brother.

Several hours passed before they reached the drop-off point. They unloaded one of the Jeeps. From the feel of the bags, she was pretty sure the load was drugs and not weapons. She couldn’t find a way to tag these bags without being seen, so she tagged a nearby tree, sticking a micro transmitter onto the bark when she leaned against it for a minute of rest. That way, her CIA team would be able to find the drop-off location.

The sun dipped lower and lower. They needed to get their camp ready. She helped where she could and stayed out of the way otherwise. She needed to stick to Zak who was unusually subdued, nursing his jaw and looking beat down and miserable.

She cooked, even though she never did that in camp, leaving kitchen work to the cantina women. But now she was the only woman at hand and traditional gender roles lived on in the jungle. She didn’t mind. At least she knew what she was eating. Some of the men were less than discerning when it came to food out here. She dropped dried fish into the filtered water and let it boil, adding cleaned roots and native herbs they’d brought, supplemented with a few that she found near the clearing.

While the others ate, she spoon-fed some soup to Zak. “You need to eat some of this, even if it hurts.”

She made sure he had enough water and his straw, even brought him a cup of
maté
later and helped him drink it. He was in bad shape, but he could have been in worse. He could have been dead by now. She sure hoped he’d learned his lesson. And if Mitch managed to get him home in one piece, she prayed he would do something useful with his life.

“You take the second car for the night,” Juarez called across the fire to her.

To be given the car to sleep in was a treat. Juarez was probably rewarding her for bringing Zak back and for adding another good man to the boss’s team.

“With the kid,” he added. “He better still be here come morning.”

No problem there. She’d already planned on tying the kid to her wrist with her boot laces that night.

The drop-off point, where they’d set up camp for the night, was at loggers’ crossroads. Collapsed sleeping platforms were visible here and there where loggers of the past had rested. Umberto was repairing one. The rest of the men made new ones for themselves.

Megan helped Zak to another drink, but she became distracted when she heard the sound of an enraged shout.

Mitch and Umberto were facing off. Umberto cursed him with all the color of the Spanish language. Something about Mitch bumping into him and spilling his drink. “Watch where you’re going, gringo!”

Mitch stood his ground, darkness gathering in his eyes. Umberto moved closer and put the honor of Mitch’s mother in question. A muscle ticked in Mitch’s face. More insults were shouted about gringos and all the cowards who lived in the U.S. of A. He was provoking Mitch, taunting him until he couldn’t take anymore and moved toward Umberto at last, rolling over him like a tank.

Umberto was older, but he was also taller than Mitch, and had grown up fighting. He’d made his living with his fists all his life. He had moves that weren’t taught at any law enforcement academy, and a familiarity with jungle terrain that no one could match.

The men gathered around and cheered, not a thought given to pulling the battling enemies apart. They thought this prime entertainment, business as usual. Fights were frequent at the camp.

Megan watched Mitch, her hands curled into fists.

The stupid idiot.
She could have punched him herself, given half a chance. Did he have a death wish? Umberto might have been the closest thing she had to a friend at camp, but he was a hardened criminal. She never allowed herself to forget that.

If Mitch got injured… A broken rib could be a death sentence out here. Two months back, after a fight like this, a broken rib had punctured a man’s lung. He died before he could reach the witch doctor in the nearest village.

Her jaw tightened. She was not going to worry about Mitch, she told herself. He deserved whatever he got. But she couldn’t look away, either.

The men rolled on the uneven ground, too near the fire. Umberto grabbed Mitch’s collar from the back and pulled hard, trying to cut off his air. But the fabric gave instead, ripping down his back. Then Mitch was on top, pinning Umberto.

He waited, sweat rolling down his neck, until the older man capitulated. Then he stood, letting Umberto go with a cocky sneer. Which was too much for the proud Umberto, who went on the attack once again.

Mitch bent deftly out of the way, barely bumping his opponent who fell face-first into the fire. Umberto pulled back howling.

“Enough!” Juarez ordered at last, and others stepped between the fighters to separate them.

“I didn’t mean for him to get hurt.” Mitch submitted to the boss immediately, apologetic. Then he turned to Umberto. “Sorry, amigo.” He wiped his forehead. “It’s this damned heat.”

“You let him go. He came back for more.” Juarez let Mitch off the hook even as he scowled at both men. The boss watched as Umberto poured water over his burned face, hissing.

Megan grabbed her jar of salve and ran to help, shooting an angry glance at Mitch as she passed.

“Let me look at that,” she told Umberto. “It’s not that bad. You’ll heal. Anyway, women like a man with battle scars,” she said, trying to make Umberto feel better.

“Something about that one isn’t right,” the man told her under his breath. He was holding up pretty well considering the pain he must be in. “You watch him,
chica,
or he’ll burn you, too. You’ll see. You keep an eye on him.”

“Te lo prometo.”
I promise.

Juarez kicked one of the bags that held supplies, displeasure written all over his face. “Umberto will stay with the goods. The gringo is coming with us in the morning,” he declared before he stalked away.

Mitch shrugged, not seeming to care one way or the other, not looking pleased with his victory. He glanced at Umberto. “You all right?”

Umberto swore at him in Spanish and told him to drop dead.

As Mitch shuffled off, suspicion swirled through Megan. He’d wanted to come with them to the end, and now he was coming.

Convenient.

Had the fight been engineered? Maybe he hadn’t spilled Umberto’s drink by accident. He’d sure gained Juarez’s favor in a hurry, something that had taken her nearly a full year to do. Granted, the fact that she was a woman had counted against her in a big way. The most difficult part of her job had been to overcome that.

Then she thought about the snake, the way Mitch had gone off to the woods and come back walking funny. Even he wouldn’t have hidden a poisonous snake under his clothing, would he? No. She decided against it. Nobody would be that crazy.

Yet, if she’d learned anything since she’d met him, it was that he would do anything to achieve his goal. He would stop at nothing to complete his mission and get Zak back home. On a professional level, she appreciated that.

She’d have appreciated it even more than if they were partners. But they were clearly working at cross-purposes, which meant she had to watch him 24/7.

If it came down to a choice between saving her brother or Zak, Mitch would save Zak. A fact she would do well to remember.

She made sure their paths crossed when he started down to the creek for water. “So you’re coming with us to the meeting,” she remarked, watching him closely. His face didn’t betray a thing.

He filled his canteen then took hers and filled that, too, so she didn’t have to stand too close to the muddy creek and get her boots wet. She glanced around to make sure there was nobody within hearing distance.

“Billy always liked the jungle,” she said as she looked up at the tall trees that seemed to reach the sky. “He was excited when he found out that his assignment would bring him here.”

“And you? Was this what you wanted?”

She gave a sour laugh. “When I first signed up…I was thinking more plush European jobs. I’d have loved to go to Paris, in particular. Do a little shopping, a little intelligence gathering, that sort of thing.”

He handed her canteen back.

“The first week of training pretty much killed most of my TV-inspired fantasies,” she admitted. “Billy tried to talk me out of the job, actually. Before I signed up, and a couple of times after. He worried that I’d get into trouble somewhere far from home. And then he did.”

Mitch stomped the mud off his shoes and began walking away.

“He has a girl back home, Amy. She’s a kindergarten teacher. She’s just the sweetest thing.”

Mitch didn’t wait for her to catch up. He didn’t seem to be interested in her, or stories of her little brother. He was a man on a mission.

Well, she was a woman on a mission. And she wasn’t done fighting.

Chapter Nine

Mitch ambled around Don Pedro’s compound, hoping to catch a glimpse of Zak. He’d been carried off the moment they’d arrived at the meeting point, and hadn’t been seen since.

He should have taken the kid before they’d gotten this far. He’d thought about it several times during the night at their makeshift camp in the jungle, then again during the long trek that had brought them here. Yet he hadn’t acted.

Something had stopped him, and if he wanted to be honest, he had to admit—at least to himself—that something was Megan. He wanted her to be able to save her brother. Even if she’d used him. If he was going to catch any flak for that from the Colonel, he would just have to deal with it.

The jumble of structures that made up the compound didn’t seem to have been built according to any logical plan. It didn’t seem possible that law enforcement hadn’t discovered the place. The two-acre clearing in the jungle had to be clearly visible from the air. On top of the largest building, a two-story Spanish-style house complete with a balcony; there was even a helipad. A chopper was parked there at the moment.

Juarez’s camp—with its roughly made wooden shacks—had an air of impermanence. He camped like a man who knew he might have to disappear at any moment, putting as little work as possible into the place, and spending as little money on it as possible.

Here, only half of the dozen buildings were the traditional wooden abodes with palm frond thatching that were native to the area. The rest were made from brick and cement. Every building had power—the hum of generators filled the air. The lights were on behind almost every window and more were strung between the buildings, holding back the night.

A semi-decent road led to the compound’s gate, the only entry through the barbed wire fence that guarded the perimeter to keep out the wild animals. Mitch didn’t think the
polizia
ever came here, unless it was to pick up bribes. From the sweet setup, it sure looked like Don Pedro had friends in high places who provided him with protection against such inconveniences as police raids.

“Tequila, amigo?” A man who could barely stand propped himself against a building and waved his bottle at Mitch.

“No thanks. I’m good for now, I think.” He gave a friendly laugh as he moved on.

The place buzzed with people, crowded with all the newcomers. Juarez wasn’t the only visitor. At least four other captains had come with their posses, from what Mitch had been able to overhear. Cristobal was among them. A mean one, from the looks of him.

His eyes said he’d shoot you if you so much as sneezed. A heavyset man, but not in the way Juarez was. Cristobal had the build and demeanor of a prize fighter. His face was scarred, his nose crooked—it must have been broken in the past. Mitch had caught a glimpse of the man when the captains had gone up to the Don’s big house together.

He headed toward the cantina, nodded to the men already there, but didn’t join any of their conversations or arguments. Didn’t say anything but
“Gracias,”
when a quarter bottle of homemade tequila was offered to him. He settled on a log in the corner, his back resting against the rough-hewn wood of the wall, his eyes half-closed, the very picture of a man exhausted by the long trip.

He listened. Also, he kept an eye out for Megan, but didn’t see her. She was probably looking for her brother.

The talk centered on guns and women. Nobody was talking about Zak, or where any prisoners might be kept. After half an hour, Mitch slipped away. A useful clue could have saved him considerable time, but from the way the conversation had gone, sticking around would just have been a waste of time.

He shouldn’t have let the kid out of his sight. But Juarez had wanted him to help unload the Jeeps, and there was no way to refuse the boss without arousing suspicion. And by the time Juarez had been done with him, the kid had disappeared into one of the buildings.

Except, he was no longer there. Mitch had checked that building first, the moment he’d been able to get away. He didn’t find any bloodstains on the floor, at least, which gave him hope that the kid was still alive. They’d just moved him when Mitch hadn’t been looking.

Don Pedro was busy this evening receiving his captains, who’d probably give him reports on their activities and his cut of the cash from all the shady businesses they ran. But the grace period wasn’t likely to last beyond morning. Tonight, the men ate and drank. They would do that long into the night, at the rate they were going. But in the morning, they would remember Zak, the man who’d shot the Don’s half brother. Then there would be a reckoning.

Mitch had until then to get the kid away from here. That was all the time Megan had, too. When Mitch disappeared with Zak, her close association with him would get her into trouble. She couldn’t afford to linger. He hoped she was making headway.

He stopped to adjust his left boot, glancing around surreptitiously to make sure no one was watching him. Then he ducked into a narrow space between two buildings.

Nobody called out after him.

He moved quickly, looking for entry into either building. Eventually he found a padlocked door on the right. It took him less than two minutes to get in.

The lights were out, but enough moonlight came in through a row of windows that he could see the half dozen long tables that lined the walls. And scales, wrapping materials, all the paraphernalia of a serious drug operation.

He glanced up at a narrow walkway suspended from the roof beams. When the workers were getting these packages ready, a couple of armed guards probably stood up there, making sure nobody stole anything, making sure there was no trouble.

He walked around, checked every shadowed corner, knowing if Zak was tied up in here somewhere, he might not be in good enough shape to call out for help, even if the kid did see him in the semi-darkness.

A ten-minute search turned up no sign of him. No sign of Megan’s brother, either. Zak was his priority, but if he found Billy, if the man was still alive, he would help Megan. He might not have had a brother, but he did have Cindy, a sister he would have killed or died for.

He understood where Megan was coming from. Understood it and respected it. That was why he was still here, instead of already cutting through the jungle on his way back home with Zak.

It didn’t have anything to do with the way his heart stumbled every time he looked at Megan Cassidy. Definitely not. That would be stupid.

He eased back out the way he’d come in and snapped the padlock closed behind him.

“Que pasa, gringo?”

The voice made him spin. Juarez. The meeting with Don Pedro must be over.

Mitch made a point of craning his neck around. “I thought I saw a woman come in here.” He put a confused look on his face as he came forward from between the buildings, making himself sway on his feet. “I swear the
mujer
disappeared into nothing.” He blinked hard. “What do they put into the tequila around here, anyway?”

The boss laughed at him. “A
mujer,
eh? Come with me.”

He hesitated for a second, calculating how quickly he could grab his knife and sink it into the man’s heart, how quickly he could drag him into the shadows of the narrow space.

Quickly enough, if there weren’t any others around. But a handful of men played a dice game in the dust in front of the building opposite them and, alerted by Juarez’s voice, they kept looking his way.

He joined Juarez with a forced grin. “Lead the way.”

Half an hour went to waste before he could get away again, leaving one relieved woman behind. With all the strangers in camp and all the drinking, the women had plenty of requests and were plenty tired. The woman Juarez had introduced him to hadn’t taken offense when he’d changed his mind. He even got an affectionate pat on the back. Judging by the noises coming from the loft above the stables that housed the packing mules, Juarez was oblivious to anything but his own satisfaction.

Mitch checked the stables on his way out, and found two more couples who were taking advantage of the soft hay, but no sign of Zak or Billy.

He ducked out the door, heading for another building he hadn’t checked yet. The main house, the one with the balcony and the helipad on the roof, he was leaving for last. Don Pedro’s private quarters had to be well guarded. His chances of getting caught would be the highest there.

He snuck into the barracks, and found them mostly empty, save for the few men who’d drunk themselves unconscious and had somehow dragged themselves back here to crash. In the darkness, he stumbled over a boot someone had left in the middle of the room.

“Hey,
chica.
Come here,” one of the drunks called from his bunk, his words followed by a hiccup.

Mitch moved on without response, shaking his head. He worked his way back to the narrow alley where Juarez had almost caught him, and rounded the building he hadn’t been able to get into before. It was dark inside. At last he came to a door in the back.

He wiggled the doorknob. Unlocked. He stepped into the darkness, closing the door quietly behind him. He knew at once that he wasn’t alone. Tension hung thick in the air.

“What do you want?” The barked Spanish words came from the far end of the room. People moved in the darkness. “Turn on the light.”

Not a chance. He wasn’t about to make himself a target. He ducked low and readied his gun.

Someone groaned. Two muffled shots were fired. As if the barrel of the gun was pressed into something that dampened the sound, like a body.
Not Zak,
Mitch thought. Zak would be called to task in front of the Don, made an example. Not Billy, either. If Megan was right, they’d had Billy for a year now. Why execute him suddenly and in secret?

He opened the door at his back and rolled out of the building a second before a bullet shattered the door frame. This one would be heard. He dashed into the bushes behind the building and laid low. Three men rushed out, but they only looked for him for a few seconds before taking off. They knew the gunshot would bring the Don’s guards.

Sure enough, shouts rose in the camp. Mitch couldn’t move without being seen. But if they found him here… He couldn’t afford to be held and questioned. As the night wore on, Zak was running out of time.

He couldn’t slip into the jungle, either. The fence was at his back. He was trapped.

M
EGAN
HAD
BEEN
HIDING
behind the cantina for at least twenty minutes when the gunshot sounded and all the men she was watching ran off in that direction. Hopefully, Mitch wasn’t in trouble. She shouldn’t have cared as much as she did. Of course, she shouldn’t have slept with him, either. There was something about him that made her break rules she’d never broken before, something that put that funny fluttering in the middle of her chest.

But it wasn’t anything she could stop and contemplate at the moment.

When the area cleared at last, she headed for a double padlocked door in the back, which she thought might lead to her brother. No other place she’d checked so far held any clues. She prayed to God this would be it.

She picked the lock and stepped inside the dark space. Her senses told her she was in a small room. Wood planks squeaked under her feet as she stepped forward tentatively. Her heart beat faster.

Every cell of her body was alive and alert. After a year of planning and jockeying for Juarez’s attention, she had finally made it, she was here. Billy had to be somewhere nearby. This was it. She grinned into the darkness, then reminded herself not to get too carried away on the rising tide of hope. She needed to keep her focus, now more than ever.

She moved forward by feel, bumping into a soft, solid mass that could have been a dead body, but turned out to be a sack of something. Her hands, held out in front of her, grazed jars. Glass clinked in the darkness. She felt a shelf. She was in the pantry. Well, all right. Logical for a room built right into the side of the cantina.

She didn’t dare turn on the light, so she lit a match and looked around carefully to make sure she didn’t miss any hidden doors or crawl spaces where a prisoner could be stashed.

She saw nothing. No way out of the pantry except the way she’d come in. Disappointment tightened her throat as the match went out. She only let the feeling touch her for a second. She shook off all negativity before she exited.

A couple of drunks were singing about love and war in the distance. Didn’t hit a single note between them. She cringed as she snuck in the opposite direction. She had one more building to check before she moved on to the main house, the most well-protected place in the compound.

Everything she saw she cataloged, every crate of guns she found she tagged, every word she overheard she remembered. She was still a CIA operative and planned on filing a report when she got back to the office. She hoped that would make up for her gross breach of conduct here at least a little.

She made a note of the helicopter on the roof up ahead. She hadn’t flown one in years, but in a pinch… She snuck toward another cement building that was a quarter of the size of the main one. This one had a double lock instead of a padlock. Her hopes rose. They must keep something important here.