Mission Made For Two (13 page)

“He basically owns this one.
At least the authorities in Santo Domingo.”

After she moved most of the money out of the way, she pointed the flashlight beam into the dark interior.  “I’ve got a cell phone.”

“Bring it.  It’s probably a secured line to some of his contacts.”

Sierra shoved it in the black bag.
 
Two
large envelope
s
lay beneath the
cell phone.  She pulled
the first one
out.
  It
was the kind that had metal clasps holding it shut.  Flipping it open, she pulled the papers out.  The air left her lungs. 

“What’s wrong?” Jake asked.

Hastily, she flipped through the papers.  “He has pictures of al
l of us,” she whispered.  “They’re
very
grainy, taken as we came and left headquarters.  And our names are written on each one.”

“Son of a bitch,” Jake muttered.

The anger almost choked her.  Only a select few even knew where their headquarters was located.  Sliding the pictures back in the envelope, she stuffed
it in her bag,
then
reached
inside the safe for the other one.  

“The guard in the kitchen’s on the move. Get out of there,” Jake said harshly
into her ear
.

Sierra leaned down and scooped up the stacks of money, shoving them into the safe.  She closed it.

“Sierra, move.”

“I don’t have the picture back up.” 

“You’ll have to hope he doesn’t notice it in the dark. Just
g
et out of sight.”

Pushing the picture flush against the wall, she turned and went for Diaz’s office door. 
It was locked. Shit! S
he went for the next door.  The knob turned.
She got inside and gently pushed the door closed.

“I think he’s running a patrol.  He’s heading down the back hallway, but if he follows routine,
he’ll circle the entire area.”

“Ten-four.”
  Sierra opened the door, and rushed back into the hallway.  Af
ter she hung Diaz’s picture
over the safe and straightened it, she stepped back into the unlocked room.

She
rotate
d
to look
around her
.  The beam of her flashlight cut across stacks of rectangular crates.  The crates looked familiar.  “Where’s my guard, Jake?”

“Just entering the front room.”

Sierra
pried the top off one of the crates.  “Holy mother of Mary,” she whispered
, and stared at a dozen or more machine guns
.  “Forget buying the island. Diaz has enough firepower in this room to take it over.”

She moved to another one.

“What do you mean?” Jake asked.

“There has to be
four dozen crates in here. The first one I looked in is full of machine guns.”  She removed the lid off the next crate. 
“Grenade launchers in this one.”

“The guard is turning toward Diaz’s office.”

Sierra pushed the lid back on the crates and moved to a position behind the door, just in
case the guard got really thorough.

“He’s still moving.  He’s right outside your position.
”

All she could hear was the steady beat of her heart as she stood perfectly still
waiting for
the all clear from Jake. 

“He’s
heading back to the kitchen.  Did you find anything else in the safe?”

“Yes, another envelope. I’m opening it now.”  She
pulled
the clasp
free
and turned it over.  A sheaf of papers
slid out along with a jump drive
.  Shining her flashlight beam on the papers, she scanned them.  “This one loo
ks like names and addresses of
people
. 
Maybe
buyers for the children.
 
There’s a
stack of them.  And a jump drive
that could contain anything.”

“My bet is
the jump drive
contains info on his transactions
.”

Sierra didn’t like to leave things to chance
.  She wanted answers.

“Shit!
Diaz is on the move. He’s heading toward your room. 
Time to get the hell out of there
.
I’m going to provide a
d
istraction.
”

Slimy son of a bitch was probably going to
try to climb in bed with her. 
Stuffing
the envelope into her bag
, she
slung it
over her shoulder and chest.  Diaz needed a nice parting gift. 
With the help of
her flashlight, she located a crate of grenades.

“What the hell are you doing, Sierra?  Diaz is heading down the stairs.”

“Just saying good-bye.”
  S
he pulled the top off the crate and extracted three grenades.
  She
tried to raise the window in the room, but it held fast.  She went back to the crate of grenade launchers and pulled one out.  That should do the trick.

“You can provide that distraction now, Jake.  I’m coming through the window.”

Staccato gunfire sounded outside.  Jake was shooting at the front lawn.  Hefting the grenade launcher up, she ran and shoved it through the
window
.  The sound of guards shouting filled the night air
through the broken glass
.  She heard the heavy sound of footsteps in the hall.  The door to the room flew open and one of Diaz’s men stood there, gun drawn.  Sierra pulled the pin from one of the grenades and dropped it on the floor. He was too far away to get to it.

He uttered several s
wear words in Spanish,
then
backpedaled like the hounds of hell were on his heels
.  Sierra pulled the pin on
the other two simultaneously, throwing one into the hall and the last
she tos
sed in the middle of the crates.  She
dove
out the
window.  She tucked and rolled as the room exploded.  Glass flew everywhere, some catching her in the back.

Pain
seared
her nerve endings, bu
t she got up and ran
.

“Are you okay?”

“Dandy, just keep shooting. I’
m heading for the jet skis
.”  Gunfire erupted again on the front lawn.  Then dirt kicked up around her ankles.  She looked over her shoulder to se
e
t
he guard on the roof firing
at her.

He went down.  “Good shot, Harding.”

More gunfire behind her and shouts.
  She hit the beach at full sp
eed. 

A huge explosion
made
her
glance back over her shoulder
. 
A
mmunition and more grenades must
have exploded in the fire.  Perfect
.  There could be no good use for all the weapons Diaz had stockpiled. 

Sierra
sprinted
for the jet-skis. She
wished she had time to take the keys out of the extra ones.  She grabbed the first one she got to and
started pushing her ride out to deeper water.  She
got it cranked and hopped on.
 

Shame she couldn’t have killed Diaz, but they had to make sure they had the info they needed before they took hi
m out.  Otherwise, they might l
ose the chance to find the leak.

White hot pain speared her
side
.  Even before she looked down, she knew what she’d see.  She could feel the blood pumping out
of her
.  “Jake, I’m hit,” she whispered
and gri
pped th
e handle bars of the jet-
ski tighter.  She had to get to Jake’s boat.

“How bad?”

“Not su
re, but I’m
already
feeling a bit woozy
,
” she said as a wave of dizziness
and pain
swamped her.  She fought it and gunned the engine.  “Where are you?”

A small light came on and went off to her left. She turned that direction.

“Sierra, talk to me.”

“I’m heading toward you.”  Another wave of dizzines
s
a
ssa
iled her.
  Her side was on fire.

Gunfire echoed over the water
.  Jake was firing again.  Some of the guar
ds must be giving chase.  The light in front of her flashed again quickly.  She almost missed it.      

Her vision blurred
.
  She shook it off and kept
heading toward the location she’d seen the light.
  If nothing else
,
she had to get the evidence she’d taken to Jake.  She wouldn’t pass out
and lose it in the water
.

“Sierra, you’re almost here.  I’m still keeping traffic off your six.  Just keep heading straight.”

Jake’s voice helped her.  She hung onto his words and kept her finger on the throttle.  She hit a wave that sent her airborne.  She landed with a jolt,
which didn’t help the pain in her side or the dizziness
. 

Jake’s boat appeared in front of her.  Letting off the throttle, she turned
the machine
and her momentum
pushed
her up against the side
.  Jake’s hands wrapped around her arms and she was hauled up and over the side.  She landed on a padded bench with a
thump
.

Knowing she was at her destination, she finally gave in to the darkness encroaching on her vision. 

Jake pulled up anchor and hit the throttle.  He didn’t have time to even check on Sierra. 
Since she hadn’t said a word
, not
even a smart remark
, he suspected she’d passed out.
  Worry tugged at
his gu
t, but he needed to get them away from
here
before Diaz’s men caught up with them
. 

The little boat
bounded
across the water.  He already had a safe house for
them
,
he just had to get them there
.

Sierra moaned as the boat
bounced
hard over a wave.  That tiny s
ound eased his concern slightly.
  Satisfied
none of
D
iaz’s men were
on his tail, he slowed
. 

Grabbing a flashlight and
first aid
kit, he
knelt beside
her
.  He touched her tee sh
irt.  His hand came away slick
with blood.  “Dammit, Sierra,” he whispered.  “You just can’t stay out of trouble.”

“You sound like Ms. Grayson,” she murmured.

The fact she was
talking reassured him a little more
. 
He lifted
her shirt and shined
the light
on the
wound
in her side
.
  “Who’s Ms. Grayson?” he asked, trying to keep the worry and anger out of his voice.

“
Up-tight
social worker.”

Jake shook his head.  “I have to turn you.”

“’K, but I’m warning you I’m in no condition for sex.”

“Smart ass,” he murmured.  Some of the
tension eased out of his neck when he fo
und two holes.  Dealing with a clean wound was a lot easier than having to dig a bullet out.  He just had to hope nothing
major
had been hit.

“How bad?” she asked, her eyes still closed.

“Bad enough.
Just hold still. I’ve got to pack it and try to get the bleeding stopped.

“Yes, sir.”

Opening the
first aid
kit, he found a roll of gauze.  He wadded up a huge handful and pressed it to the front of the wound
and
did the same for back
.

Sierra groaned
. 

“Sorry, sweetheart.  I have to push hard.”

Jake reached for another roll of gauze and lifted her
a
gainst him.  She groaned again.
“You still with me, Sierra?”